I Can't Help Falling in Love With You
by Cornelialovecaleb
Summary: After the Miracle Queen fiasco, Marinette dives into her new duties with the Miracle Box and begins pushing for a change in both her team and the situation in Paris. How will Ladybug handle the responsibilities of being the new Guardian? Who wins her heart? How will she react when she gets to know Chat Noir's true identity? Will she be able to defeat Hawk Moth once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Major spoilers for Heart Hunter and Miracle Queen.

Minor season 3 spoilers throughout the story.

Chapter 1 Aftermath

The way his fingers and the pick he held between them slid almost effortlessly over the vibrating strings of his guitar mesmerized her and she nearly jumped when his eyes opened again and he looked directly at her, just like the first time they met.

When she first met Luka, his quiet kindness reminded her of Adrien—but more time spent with him changed her initial perceptions. The boy of musical charms, good humor, and calming disposition soon carved out his very own nook in her thoughts. His lightheartedness was a contrast to her unrelenting monsoons of emotions, and Marinette found herself enjoying his presence more often than not.

"Hey, Marinette?"

The girl blinked, belatedly realizing that the sound of Luka's guitar had stopped and twisted around to look at him. "Did you say something? Sorry, I kind of got lost in my thoughts," she apologized. "That was a lovely melody you just played, Luka."

He watched her for a moment, a small frown on his face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah" Marinette said automatically. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He patted the spot next to him on the bed and Marinette slowly walked over to him, sitting next to him, a bit closer than she had last time she had been there.

"I keep trying to find your song, but everything I play comes back... hmm, I'm not even sure how to say this," Luka paused, sitting back and adjusting his hold on his guitar. "Melancholic, maybe."

The word struck deep, even though Marinette tried to hide it. She swallowed.

"I know I asked this before but…how do you do that?"

Luka chuckled, gaze steady on her, "You know, it's actually pretty easy, you just have to strum your fingers over the strings of the guitar to produce a sound,"

"I-I meant, how do you…know what's in my heart?" she placed a hand over it, suddenly feeling how it's beat got faster.

Luka regarded her curiously, "It's your face," she looked at him, stunned, "I can tell what you feel by looking into your eyes. Right now, you're a bit scared I can read you so well," he gave a low chuckle and Marinette flushed in embarrassment.

It was hard to deal with sometimes, how Luka could see so much and yet so little. He was very good at reading other humans and picking up at their emotions, but of course he lacked the context behind it all. And she couldn't tell him about any of her problems no matter how much she wanted to. It felt overwhelming. There was too much, all tangled together into one ball: the burden of Ladybug, being the new Guardian, Adrien and Kagami, what to do about all of the miraculous holders who had been exposed, where to find new miraculous holders, what to do about Chloé, how they were going to defeat Hawkmoth… She felt completely overwhelmed and didn't have a clue what to do.

Master Fu had given her the most important job ever. The new Guardian was her. Would she be able to handle it?

"So..., What's got you so sad?" he softly asked.

"Wh-What? I'm not sad!" she denied. Luka's unimpressed stare made her sigh. "It's nothing."

"I wouldn't say so," he argued. "If it was nothing, then you wouldn't be out here looking all sad."

She must've been quiet for a while, because he spoke again, "You shouldn't be sad." She blinked, regaining her focus. That's right, they were still having a conversation. She was supposed to say something back, like words. "We wouldn't want you be Akumatized now." He chuckled. "Especially you, of all people."

She remained silent.

"If you need to talk, then I'm here for you."

"What if I can't?" she mumbled. She rested her arms on her knees.

"Well." she felt Luka brush up against her left shoulder. He gave her a light nudge with his elbow and said, "That's what music is for. To express the things that can't be said with words." Luka strummed his guitar lightly. "It's an outlet. Kind of like design."

His smile looked so warm and innocent, but the genuine concern in his eyes was something Marinette knew could never be mimicked.

She wordlessly stared at him as she tried to find the words. Had this man always been this sweet?

"I haven't been able to design much lately," Marinette confessed. Whenever she sat down at her table, she got distracted by thoughts of everything else.

Luka made a soft sound of understanding. "Can I help?"

The question was kind, just as Luka was, and made Marinette smile even as she shook her head.

"No, Luka. You can't." But there was one person who could. Someone who was closer to understanding what Ladybug was going through than anyone else. The sudden, irresistible urge to see Chat Noir flooded through her.

"But thank you."

"All right then, we don't have to talk about it." He sighed. "But if you figure out a way that I can, let me know. I'm always here for you, Marinette."

In the next second she heard a low melodious sound from the guitar, she turned her head toward Luka and the boy smiled at her, waving playfully. His blue eyes lighting up.

"Thanks, again Luka" Marinette muttered, setting her feet on the floor.

There was a moment where the two of them just looked at each other; she suddenly realized that he was close, closer than she had originally anticipated. In another life, this would have been the moment where either of them might have leaned in, and they would have shared their first kiss. It would have been the start of something new.

But neither of them leaned in. It just wouldn't be the right thing to do when she was still confused by everything. Luka would have borne her confusion with kindness and grace because that was the sort of person that Luka was, but she wasn't willing to hurt him anymore. Luka deserved better than that; he deserved better than her. She had already pulled him into danger. She had taken advantage of his kindness by crying in his arms; she'd come here today hoping for sanctuary from her life; to get a break from the thoughts spinning around in her her. And now she realized that she hadn't come here for anything more.

She stood up and saw understanding in Luka's face, closely followed by regret tempered by sadness.

"I-I need to go home now. I haven't finished my homework and—" she frowned.

Luka noticed her frown and mimicked the expression too, though Marinette seemed too distracted to notice.

Marinette lowered her gaze, she was about to hurt someone again who didn't deserve it - but it could have been worse, she consoled herself, had she and Luka begun dating before she was ready. And perhaps she would never be ready, not for Luka, but that was a truth he deserved to know.

"Hey, Marinette..,"

"Yeah?"

"You are..." Luka inhaled sharply, lowering his eyes, fidgeting with a guitar string. His voice turned very soft "I just wanted you to know that you are a good person. And I think that you deserve someone who loves you back, the way you deserve. Someone who can look at you and see you. All of you. Don't settle for anything less."

His words left her speechless, because the only person who knew all of her was Tikki, but she appreciated the sentiment. The girl put her hand on Luka's shoulder and squeezed. She wanted to kiss him on his cheek, or hug him, but she refrained. It would be cruel of her to do anything that would give him hope.

"Luka, I see you as a-"

"You don't need to say anything. I understand if you still have feelings for Adrien, and if your eyes are set on him, then I will respect that."

She left his room without saying anything else, shutting the door behind her. Marinette went up the stairs and emerged into the heart of the night. The girl sighed as she walked down the gangplank and back onto land. It felt strange not to have the ground moving beneath her feat as she ducked into an alley.

-LB-X-CN-

"Marinette?" Tikki asked, flying out of Marinette's purse once they were back home. "Are you all right?"

"I-I don't know." Marinette said slowly, surprised at herself. She felt a little bit lighter. Just a little, but enough that she was able to discern the difference. The uncertainty over what might or might not be happening between her and Luka had been worse than she'd thought.

"I'm proud of you," said Tikki, flying in front of the girl's face.

"Why?"

"I think you handled the situation back there quite well,"

Marinette smiled weakly. "Thanks Tikki. Luka is a lovely guy, but..., I just can't put my finger on it, because Luka really is a wonderful person, but it just doesn't feel..."

"Right?" Tikki said knowingly. "Because you still got feelings for Adrien."

"Hmm," Marinette said, rather than respond to that. It wasn't even about Adrien, honestly. Though it hurt, she had been trying to make peace with the fact that Adrien and Kagami were dating now. Adrien was not hers, and might never be hers, and Marinette was slowly but surely coming to terms with that: Kagami was steady and sweet and deserved happiness as much as anyone else. So did Adrien, and if Kagami was the person he had chosen then Marinette was going to respect that.

But even then, Marinette still didn't think Luka was the right one for her.

"I'm just really tired, and I just want to go to bed," Marinette went on. "Tikki, would you mind if we talked about this later?"

"Of course not. Sleep tight, Marinette!"

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette was lying awake on her bed, and the only thing she could think about was what had happened recently.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged the egg-shaped box close to her chest. She wrapped her arms around it as if it was the most important thing on earth, and in many ways it was. The box with the ladybug print on it contained about a dozen Miraculous, perhaps more.

It was her responsibility to keep those innocent Kwamis safe, and the powers that accompanied them.

Marinette closed her eyes as another shimmering tear rolled down her face. She kept staring at the roof, frozen to her space, protectively holding on to the box and trying to clear her mind to figure out what the hell she would do next. Maybe she could keep the Miracle Box in the bakery? For a split second, she thought about giving the box to Alya.

She was completely overwhelmed and didn't have a clue what to do. Her sinuses hurt. Her nose was stuffy. Her chest stung. Her head felt heavy. This was what overworked felt like?

She'd survived years of saving Paris from danger, combining it with school work and the things happening at home.

She had survived years of leading a double life, but she had loved it all, things hadn't always been perfect, but she couldn't complain. Marinette loved being Ladybug, and all the adventures she had shared with Chat Noir. And now, if she became the new Guardian, then there was the possibility that she would forget it all. It hurt. The tears that ran down her cheeks were silent and consistent, she felt lost and alone.

'I wish things were back to the way they were! When we were happy and clumsy!' Marinette thought to herself as she dried a tear.

Marinette sighed, and then she drifted off to sleep.

That's not to say that she slept well.

-CN-X-LB-

Quivering in her bedsheets, Marinette twisted in the tangled blankets, eyes shut tightly and whimpering painfully. The nightmare she was trapped in locking her soul and keeping it prisoner, refusing to let go.

She saw Chat Noir all alone, holding on to the iron girder of the Eiffel Tower. His ring started beeping. He was about to turn back any moment now. She saw his grip weaken, his arm began to shake with the strain and try as he might. She could tell that he was injured.

"Where is she when you need her the most?" he groaned under his breath. The blonde couldn't raise his body enough to hook his legs over the ledge, his energy spent. The ring let out one final beep before transforming him back to his normal self. He couldn't hold on anymore.

"Oh no," he yelled as he felt his fingers began to slip. "No, no, no." He felt himself begin to plummet toward the Paris cobbles below.

Clutching the pillow closer to her face, the sweat dripped down on her nose just to fall on her lips. A cry escaped her mouth and as quick as the lightning that struck the window, the black-haired girl shot up from her bed and swiveled her head around in fear.

Safe.

She was safe. There was no one there. There was no Chat Noir, nor Adrien. It was just a dream. It didn't make any sense at all, however. Adrien couldn't be Chat Noir, it was simply impossible.

'It was just a dream' she kept telling herself. ' or rather, a real nightmare.' she concluded.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: She Never Cried in front of him.

"I don't know Tikki, it was so realistic like he was fighting off some Akuma without me, he transformed into Adrien of all things and then he fell to the ground and I woke up. I've never experienced a dream like that before, what do you think?" Marinette said to her little friend, explaining her weird dream to her dearest Kwami while she got ready for school.

"I don't know either, Mari. I've never heard of this happening to a Miraculous holder before. And you don't even have a clue about Chat Noir's true identity, so you must have had a realistic dream where you combined Adrien and Chat Noir by accident. Unless you think Chat Noir is Adrien?" questioned the spotted Kwami.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I just don't understand how it is possible connecting Adrien to Chat Noir. Adrien is so gentle, kind. caring and calm. Chat Noir is the total opposite, the cringy things he says, and he's really into flirting with me. I mean flirting with Ladybug." She muttered, trying to convince her little friend that there was no possible way that Adrien and Chat Noir shared the same identity.

"But Marinette, you're also a completely different person when you are ladybug. It could be the same scenario with Adrien. Don't you at least think that there is a slight possibility that Adrien is Chat Noir?" Tikki responded. Tikki had always known that Adrien was Chat Noir, ever since she could sense Plagg in his bag at school, but she wasn't allowed to interfere, and it was Marinette's wish to keep the true identities hidden.

"I don't know, Tikki. I just can't imagine Adrien being Chat Noir, you know? It just seems unrealistic."

-LB-X-CN-

Marinette went to class on Monday, and the first person who met her at the door was Adrien.

The dark-haired girl didn't even offer him a glance. "Hey, Marinette..." No response. He raised a golden eyebrow while he looked at her, confusion in his emerald green eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Nino looked at Adrien in confusion, what just happened?

Marinette was deep in thoughts as she made her way through a river of students, the dark-haired girl heard someone shouting "Marinette!" but she didn't turn around. She kept on fighting her way through the river and didn't pause before she was right outside of the classroom.

Her chain of thoughts broke when she heard 'Marinette' one more time before she decided to turn around. And there she was, pushing everyone out of the way so that she could get to her. As soon as she reached her, Marinette offered her a small, fake smile.

"Hey, I've been calling you. Didn't you hear?" Alya scolded her. Marinette looked surprised.

"Sorry, Alya. I was lost in my own thoughts." Marinette replied.

The two walked to class, though during that "trip" Alya was mostly talking and Marinette was silent. They managed to get to class before the teacher. This time, Alya and Marinette were seated in front of Adrien and Nino. It felt weird. It was usually the other way around.

Ms. Mendeleiev entered the classroom, put her books on her desk and wished the class a good morning, and then the lesson began.

This was all very, very, very wrong. Adrien twitched on his chair inside the classroom. Had she gone deaf? No. She was talking with Alya. Even laughing, but she didn't sound like herself. Her laughter was flat, and not as full of life as it used to be. So she couldn't be deaf. Her back was to him, maybe she had gone blind. But no, she was reading her textbook. Tapping her foot. So she couldn't be blind. He wrinkled his nose in frustration. He looked at Nino, who shook his head and tried to get her attention. "Hey, Marinette," Nino called out. No response. Hey. Marinette!" still nothing. Only her foot tapping, pencil scratching and pages ruffling slightly. What the hell was wrong with her?

The answer to that particular question was very simple. Not that Adrien would ever realize it on his own. Marinette was ignoring him. Blatantly. Completely trying to shut him out. Green eyes boring holes into the back of her head. '_Ah yes. This was the dreaded Take-Me-Home-I'm-A-Homeless-Kitten stare attack_. 'She thought to herself and sighed, as she continued taking notes on her notebook.

Good Grief! She had to physically stop herself from reaching to the back of her head and brush away the imaginary presence there. He was actually pretty good at that. His eyes bore deep down into Marinette's very being and froze her where she sat.

Her heart was breaking though, and she felt horrible, but she was trying to stop hurting. Because if she was going to forget him, all about him at some point. However, ignoring him was a lot harder than she had imagined. Thus, in the end, it was better for her to pretend that he didn't exist at all. She needed to get some space from him. Marinette had to admit though, it hurt her like hell. And this wasn't like her.

Adrien cracked his knuckles.

Marinette ignored him.

He had been keeping an eye on her during the classes and had noticed that she had been taking notes with a dull look on her face. It wasn't like her. How was no one else noticing?

Clearing his throat, Adrien said in a very calm voice "Marinette, is something wrong?"

Ms. Mendeleiev had noticed that some of her students were unattentive during her class, and she hated it. "Adrien, Marinette, pay attention!" She warned. Adrien turned his head back to the teacher and stopped staring at Marinette.

She continued to ignore him. Her mechanical pencil clicking as the lead skritched on the paper.

It was true that some of the lectures could be uninteresting, but it couldn't cause this. What was it then? It wasn't like her. Everyone seemed both consumed and scared at the same time in the science lesson taught by Ms. Mendeleiev. Nobody moved an inch from their desk. All that could be heard were scientific terms spoken by the teacher.

"So, let's revise, shall we?" Ms. Mendeleiev muttered.

Marinette was both fortunate and unfortunate enough to spot some birds soaring outside, tweeting blissfully, the leaves of the trees dancing in the gentle breeze and the sky- oh the wonderful cerulean sky. Fortunate because it was an appealing scene. Unfortunate because Ms. Mendeleiev absolutely despised students who were not attentive during her most important class. And right now she had had her eyes on both the two of them.

"Marinette?"

The songs of the feathered beauties seemed to grow ever so distant as a more alarming and compelling tone approached her, but unfortunately, she was so inattentive that it took Alya, her redhead deskmate to elbow her quite painfully in the ribs.

"Ouch."Marinette whimpered, clutching her side. Alya whispered a sincere apology, to get her concentration where it was demanded.

The hot-tempered teacher struck both hands on Marinette's desk, making the girl jump out of her chair quite literally. There was no more sound now, except for her chair falling to the granite floor with a loud thud. She blushed bright pink as she noticed that everyone in the room was staring in her direction. Great. Including Lila who had a scowl on her face. Marinette now was the center of attention, and being the center of attention was something she couldn't stand.

"Daydreaming again, Marinette? Well, I am glad I have your attention now. Now, would you be so kind to deal with the problem on the whiteboard or is that window still too interesting for you?" she spat at her so coldly that Marinette felt the chills go up her spine and into her heart. The feeling was heavy and heavier it got as she extended a black marker to her.

Marinette avoided looking the woman in the eye as she took the writing utensil and haltingly made her way to the front of the class where the exercise was waiting for her while fidgeting with her earring. She took a deep breath. By sheer luck, it happened to be a Redox equation, which she had studied a few days prior. It only took a quick look over the components to know how to solve it and in less than one hundred and eighty seconds the answer lay in front of everyone's eyes, black on white. But, for some reason, that was still not good enough for the eccentric Ms. Mendeleiev.

"Yes, it is correct. However, disrupting my class is still unacceptable. Head to the principal's office this instant!" she ordered, making her feel authoritative. It must be sad to only have power over children in college. She heard a couple of students shouting 'oOoOO oOoOO' as she put the writing utensil down on the desk in front of her. Lila shot her a dirty look. "As with you, Adrien." The class went dead silent, no one was shouting and Lila sent her a death stare, looking like she was about to kill Marinette at any moment. Alya looked at her questioningly, but the dark-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders.

With the same chilly, heavy feeling as before, Marinette took reluctant steps to her desk. She grasped the books which were scattered on her desk, gathered her bright pink bag and left the dim classroom and made her way to her locker. However, she saw no point in actually going to Mr. Damocles' office considering she had done nothing wrong. And now the cold numbness was accompanied by a burning feeling of maltreatment, resentment.

-LB-x-CN-

Marinette balanced the stack of books in her arms before continuing to walk. 'Almost there.' She blew a strand of her hair from her eyes and trotted down the empty hallway.

She came to a halt as she felt something ominous approach her, but before she managed to find the source she felt a warm hand pat on her shoulder.

With an embarrassing cry of surprise, Marinette fell back and her books fell around her. She pouted. "Great. Just Great."

"Marinette?" Adrien said, worry in his eyes. "How are you doing?" he asked her privately.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He quickly apologized while putting his hands up in defense. Marinette grabbed 3 of the books off the floor and piled them in her arms. The dark-head had finally finished collecting them all when she felt the weight lessened. Did she drop some of them again?

Adrien was holding 2 of her books. He offered them to her and she quickly shoved them in her locker.

"Yeah. I'm Fine." A fake smile found its way onto her face and she nodded, but each time the blonde boy asked her, he could see that her eyes were losing their glow. It was safe to say, that he was concerned. His eyes narrowed.

"It's really nothing." She whispered. "I can't believe I'm so upset. I'll be fine. So don't worry."

"Marinette..." Adrien didn't believe her, Marinette was not a girl who cried easily. Her friends often joked that she didn't have tear ducts because she always seemed to be smiling. When she was angry it was more with anger and a frown than tears.

" Adrien, why did you follow me?" Marinette avoided eye contact, her blue eyes locked to the floor.

" I just came to make sure you were alright. It pains me to see you like this." Marinette lowered her head. When she looked up again, unshed tears shone in her blue eyes.

Damn. She was almost crying. Adrien had not meant to do that. He wanted to pull her close and comfort her, hold her, tell her that everything would be alright, but in his heart, he knew that Marinette hated him, why else would she ignore him? And so his body didn't obey his thoughts. She looked shattered.

"..." A feeling labeled as 'guilt' spread in her stomach, she had caused another person to worry. She took a couple of steps from the blonde boy and met his green eyes for a couple of seconds. He could see that she was hurting. He still cared for her.

"Will you be alright?" He noticed how the dark rings under her eyes had grown darker since the last time he had seen her, and how she had tried to cover them up with concealer. It just wasn't enough.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I promise." Her voice cracked and her shoulders began to shake. Marinette finally looked at him, and upon seeing his worried face her heart crushed. He noticed that her eyes were red and sore from crying.

The blonde-haired boy felt a bit disappointed that she was lying to him. Adrien sighed, he hated when people lied to him.

"Marinette, I can always tell when people are lying to me," he said, he took a couple of steps towards her and closed the gap between them.

Marinette looked at him in confusion. '_Why do you care so much about me now that you have Kagami in your life? You are dating, you have someone to care about._' She wanted to scream in frustration, but she remained still, glancing around uneasily.

The girl exhaled. It seemed like time had been standing still for the past three weeks. It had only been three weeks since she broke down crying on Luka's shoulder. Only three weeks since Master Fu's disappearance. Only three weeks since Adrien and Kagami had started dating. Only three weeks since Chloé had disappeared. Only three weeks since Chat Noir had stopped calling her M'lady and flirting with her. Only 3 weeks since Hawk Moth sent out his last Akuma. Three weeks. Only three weeks.

However, to Marinette, it felt like three years had passed since those events happened. Everything was tangled up in her head. And she still felt so guilty. She had lost Master Fu, the only person she felt would really listen to her when she had tough times. The only person who understood her. She had just never fucked up that bad before, losing Adrien, Chat Noir, and Master Fu.

She shouldn't have gone for his aid while as Ladybug. However, seeing how cheerful Adrien and Kagami were together, she just hadn't been thinking straight. She had also lost Adrien when she gave up on him to give Kagami happiness, and she knew that she had lost Chat Noir along the way as well. She could feel their synergy thrown off every time they went on patrol. And he seemed to be so obsessed with Ryoko, that he would ask her on every night patrol to give her the Dragon Miraculous for good. '_Easier said than done._'

Marinette started to think about the joy she had lost and the possible shot at true love too. Maybe she was being overdramatic and exaggerating, but being with Adrien everything felt clear, almost as clear working alongside Chat Noir against any Akuma that stood in their way of keeping Paris free from danger. Her cheeks got a rosy tint. It almost felt as if they were true lovers who were never destined to be together. To only experience heartache as the one they loved didn't return their feelings.

He liked someone else. He was in love with Kagami. She was just a friend to him. Just a friend. She had heard him say those words to classmates, and to Kagami. That damned friendzone.

And Hawk Moth had been the last person she had expected to show up in the open too. How was she supposed to know that? She had believed that it was only Mayura she had to get rid of.

The merry-go-round had been destroyed in that battle. Master Fu was lost. With the disappearance of him, she had no clue who she should ask for help if she needed advice on how to heal kwamis or anything else. No one could help her. She was all alone.

And then she had leaped into the arms of Luka, who just by sheer luck happened to be passing by as he finished doing errands for his new job.

Marinette began to hyperventilate. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing was right anymore. The guilt hit her so hard it made her world literally spin around. In a way, it was her fault. And she was all alone.

"It's my fault." She took a deep ragged breath. Marinette hid her face in her hands as she gasped for breath between sobs. Adrien wouldn't have heard her if the hallway wasn't dead silent.

Adrien let the silence reign for a while, let the girl collect herself, let himself come up with an appropriate response.

He took her by the hand and gently tugged the dark-haired girl into an embrace. His arms wrapped around her, and he rubbed his hand up and down her back as gently as he could. Marinette was tense, keeping a hard pressing hand between them. Her eyes widened as she tried to understand if this was actually happening. On the inside, she screamed and panicked. Heat rose to her face.

Adrien did the only thing he felt he could. The only thing he felt was right.

"You don't have to say anything, Marinette, but I want you to know that you are not alone. I care. I care that you are hurting, and I will never let you be hurt ever again. It's alright to cry Marinette. You can cry." Her face felt even hotter now. His words made her want to flee, but she was frozen to her spot. He really cared about her. She felt something that she had only felt with Luka lately. She felt safe with him. Being with him felt right.

And then she broke down, straight in front of him. She leaned completely on the blonde boy when her knees buckled from the emotional strain. Adrien leaned onto the book lockers and somehow maneuvered them so that they were sitting on the floor. Marinette cried, and she cried hard. The black-haired girl curled into him more, nearly ripping his black T-shirt from the grip she had on it. Adrien had meant every word of what he had said. He would never see Marinette hurt ever again. His arms tightened around the girl, and he whispered the promise into her dark-haired locks.

Somehow it felt as if the walls that had been between them had started to fall down.

Although they had been friends for years now, he still continually surprised her by being sweet and sensitive when he wanted to be.

"Never again M'lady. Never again." Her eyes widened. Did he just call her M'lady? She didn't know what exactly what was happening, but she had a feeling that Adrien and Chat Noir were connected somehow; she didn't get it, but she had a feeling.

"Did you just call me...M'lady?" She was frowning, and there was a small confusion in her voice. Adrien turned bright red. He panicked knowing that if she knew his identity, he would get in trouble.

"No...er... I-I said Marinette." he quickly stuttered while looking flustered. She spaced out for a moment. Could Chat be any of the guys in her class? Did she actually know him? If she was at her school, wouldn't she have figured it out already?

'_How strange_' she thought as she snuggled into Adrien's T-shirt before she looked around in the empty hallway. What if Adrien truly was Chat Noir?

Psh, Adrien was way slicker than that silly kitty. And yet... for some odd reason, she kind of wanted them to be the same person...Why?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_He needs to clean up his own mess._

"Marinette?" Tikki's concerned voice called from her purse. "I know that being granted as the new guardian may seem overwhelming." Tikki paused. "But it's for the good of the world that will of Order must carry out its legacy. Master Fu had faith in you, he chose you to take on this task."

"But Tikki, I'm just a teenager. I'm not even old enough to start driving yet. I don't feel mature enough to guide a team. I am clumsy; I couldn't make a decent delivery without falling flat on my face."

"But you're Ladybug." Tikki protested as she flew out of the half-open purse.

"There's a big differe-"

As if the small, pink creature had sensed her trepidation, Tikki's lips formed into a kind smile.

"And you've grown so much since we met!" Tikki said assuringly. "I remember when you locked me away because you doubted you would be able to fill the shoes of a superhero. Look how far you've come! To know what you are lacking is a quality in itself, but you need to stop selling yourself short of the qualities you have now. I do believe you have what it takes. So stop being so hard on yourself, Mari."

"I'll try." The young girl sighed before she threw herself onto her bed, grabbed one of the pillows and buried her nose into it.

The silence stretched between them.

"And Marinette." When her voice finally did sound through the silence, it was very gentle and soft. "I think it's about time you get help from the Order of the Guardians, take the Horse Miraculous and teleport to the revived temple, ask them for their assistance."

-LB-x-CN-

Marinette stepped through the portal and took a brief glance at her new surroundings. It just so happened to start snowing.

It didn't look anything like Paris - the place she had called home - or even France for that matter. This was somewhere much, much different. The mountains were covered in a thick blanket of snow. Somewhere in the distance, on top of one of the mountains, exotic buildings stood, glittering in the snow. They were fairly large, with curved rooftops. The air was dry and crisp. Through the sky fell millions of tiny snowflakes, descending ever so slowly to the ground. The moon above illuminated the snow, causing everything to glitter.

Marinette started shivering, regretting not bringing a winter coat or jacket.

"Too cold," she whispered, her breath evaporating in the cold.

Marinette then spotted a young-looking woman with skin white as paper and long, ebony black hair. She was wearing a simple-looking gown. She was standing in the courtyard and seemed to be unaffected by the cruel and cold weather. They had definitely been expecting Marinette to show up sooner or later.

She watched her breath morph into a cloud of vapor as she fell into a world of unconsciousness.

-LB-x-CN-

When Marinette awoke, she was no longer sprawled on the cold, snowy plane; instead, she was resting comfortably on a delicate bed in the finely decorated quarters of the temple. The bed covers were made of the finest red silk and when she moved, the material rolled with a liquid touch against her skin. Blissfully she lay there, sinking into the plump mattress with a carefree sigh.

What pulled her mind from this pleasant paradise was the sudden thought of how she'd got there. And who'd actually brought her there?

Still rather tired and not daring to move yet, she remained static, wanting to remain comfy in her quiet contemplation. It wasn't long though, before someone entered the room, carrying a decorated cup of Lapsang souchong tea.

Marinette carefully tilted her head so she could take into her sights the woman who'd come to stand beside the large bed. She gasped when she recognized her as the woman from the courtyard. She placed the cup down on a mahogany bed stand and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Welcome to the Temple of the Guardians of the Miraculous, Marinette Dupain Cheng." The woman said quietly. "How are you feeling?" she smiled lightly.

"Tired." was her immediate response."You... know my name?"

"We've been expecting you, Marinette." She affirmed and then motioned to the cup of smoked tea. "Would you care for a drink? You were cold as ice when I brought you in here."

Marinette nodded, carefully sitting up. Her body was still rather numb, recovering from the strenuous time traveling. She took the cup and gratefully sipped the contents. The hot tea warmed up her mouth, and she sighed again. Another of those wonderful things she'd not experienced in a while.

It looked like black tea, but it wasn't as bitter. The smell of pine resin and woodsmoke hit her nostrils. The taste of smoked paprika hit her tastebuds, but the taste itself was quite unfamiliar. The teenager hesitated.

"What kind of tea is this?" she asked.

"Lapsang souchong." She smiled. "also known as smoked tea. It will surely warm you up."

The young woman rose to her feet and went over to the window. She took in the scenery for some time, letting Marinette finish her tea in peace.

At the bottom of the cup, she could see the loose leaves swirl, tempting fate as they decided where to stick and land. Marinette finished her cup and closed her eyes.

The ebony-haired woman then turned around to face the girl who was still resting in the bed.

"I've heard that you have our missing box. Is that right?"

"Yes. That's true. " She proclaimed."And I need your assistance. Wang Fu, the trainee who had the Box befo-"

"Wang Fu misused a Miraculous because he couldn't cope with his training. "she snarled, cutting her off. Her smile was long gone now. "He needs to clean up his own mess and return the Box to us, then we will be willing to deal with him."

"Actually." Marinette paused while looking for the right words. "I'm afraid that won't be possible for now. He did something that wiped his memory of the Miraculous."

"That's an interesting turn of events. You should speak with the elders, follow me."

-LB-x-CN-

The young woman led Marinette (who was feeling a lot stronger now) though the temple and to the chamber where five elderly men where sitting in a circle on pillows. She bowed once, and then she left the girl alone with a group of men. The men were all dressed in thick layers of red robes, their golden trousers were hanging rather baggily on their hips.

"We welcome you, Ladybug. The one who revived our temple." One of them announced. He sat there with a pompous air about him, stern-faced and always at attention, just in front of the second of the five men, who was shifting from one foot to another, apparently meditating.

Marinette wasn't sure whether or not she should say "Thanks", she was so nervous that she was fidgeting with her hair.

"Please don't be so nervous, it's not like you've met a group of Oracles or something. Sit down, child." The fifth one said. The man had a long white beard that covered most of his body and long white hair.

Marinette obeyed and sat down in front of them.

"Did Wang Fu send you to plead for mercy?" The third one questioned her, stroking his own beard. His face was long and narrow with sharp features and blazing eyes.

"W-wait, what? No! I came here because I need your assistance." she snorted. "Something happened to Wang Fu that made him lose his memory, and he changed the appearance of the Miracle box."

"The transference spell." The fourth one sighed. "Please tell us everything that's transpired recently." Then he yawned. It looked like he hadn't slept for years, as he had large bags under his tired eyes. His silver-colored hair was all messy and windswept.

There were noises of frustration coming from the elderly men. Then, a long moment of silence followed when everyone was waiting for the girl to spill the details.

Marinette hesitated before she explained her side of the story. 'A big part of it is my fault, this is my mess to clean up too.' She thought. She debated in her head whether or not she should give them all of the details, including her leading Hawkmoth straight to Wang Fu.

She frowned. "I don't know much of what happened before Hawkmoth started terrorizing Paris, but what I do know is that someone found the Butterfly and the Peacock miraculous. They are now using them to create monsters and villains in order to get their hands on the Ladybug Earrings and the Cat Ring."

"So, I assume that Wang Fu lost the Miraculous that day since someone just found them?" The first one questioned, his expression heavy.

"And a Grimoire," she informed them. "but, the most important detail is that someone is using Miraculous for evil, and I'm nowhere near prepa-"

At that moment, several of the elders started to complain about Fu allowing something like that. That his choice had been irresponsible. Marinette couldn't be the new Guardian, she was undereducated or careless, or both.

"Wang Fu needs to clean up this mess himself." The third one barked.

"It's not that simple! He has forgotten everything about the Miraculous."

"And he appointed you to fix this mess." The one who had been silent throughout the entire conversation sighed. "And what about the missing Grimoire, did you manage to find it?"

That was a question the teenager had to tiptoe around the answer to since they were clearly planning to leave her on her own. In fact, Marinette decided to keep her discoveries to herself.

"Unfortunately, no." she paused. "Not that I'd be able to do anything with it if I did find it."

"I'm afraid you're on your own, child." The first one announced. "but, perhaps we can provide you with the code."

The assembled elders nodded in agreement and she was dismissed with a roll of parchment in hand. She thanked them for the help and teleported herself back to Paris.

-LB-x-CN-

"Now, what did the elders say?" Tikki tried to hide her enthusiasm but failed.

"Well, things could have gone more smoothly I guess." She griped when she was safe back in her room. At least she had Master Fu's potion ingredients. And she was also able to decipher the pictures of the pages of the Grimoire.

Now, she had some work to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

_I'm not ready to give up on you just yet._

Marinette was late for class, as usual. The teenager pulled her coat more closely around herself, trying to ward off the chill. It was the worst storm Paris had seen in months.

It was a Friday morning, the sky was dark, and the earth seemed to quiver with the mighty rumble of the thunder. It was quite a storm, lightning blazing across the sky and thunder echoing through the busy streets. The fog was gathering in the air; running was almost impossible in this kind of weather. Her long, dark hair whipped behind her as she ran blindly through the rain.

The rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind whipped the trees around like they were twigs.

A strong burst of wind whipped around her and inverted her black umbrella, making it look like a wayward tepee. "No! Not the umbrella I got from Adrien." She groaned.

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes and swore under her breath. Could anything else go wrong? Then, a car drove by at the speed of light and slammed into one of the potholes, drenching her from head to toe with dark, muddy water.

"Really?!" she yelled. The young woman flinched as the thunder rumbled closer.

She reached into her bag and grabbed the first thing she could find; her history book. Marinette held it over her head and made a run for her school. Fortunately, it was only two blocks away.

By the time she reached and entered the school building, she and the history book were drenched. The teenager went into the restroom, ignoring the dirty look she received from Lila, and stood in front of the mirror. Her mascara had run, forming dark, half-circles under her eyes, and she was wet to the skin. Marinette shuddered at the sight.

'I look like a cross between a deformed raccoon and a drowned rat,' her mouth curved into a wry smile.

Marinette snatched one of the paper towels from the dispenser and washed the mascara off of her face. Her pigtails looked wrecked too. A sigh escaped her lips as she lifted a lock of her dark hair. There wasn't much she could do about her hair and clothes, so the girl chose to head to class before she was way too late.

Marinette entered the classroom twenty-five minutes late. Her classmates stared at her wide-eyed, and some began to snicker. She plunked her pink bag next to her desk and glanced at Lila who was covering her mouth, chuckling.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, what happened to you?" Lila asked between giggles.

Marinette puckered her lips and gave her classmates one of her most menacing glares. The snickers ceased and the room calmed, for Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not a student to tangle with. She was friendly and fair most of the time, but one did not cross her and expect to come away untouched.

"This is what a drowned rat looks like, Lila. A poor, drowned rat that got caught in the rain without an umbrella to keep her dry. I would think you would know that because you certainly behave like a rat." Marinette said, her eyes alight with amusement. Alya gasped. The classroom roared with laughter, and Lila turned a vivid shade of red.

"All right class! Enough! Please be silent." Miss Caline Bustier tried to silence her class.

"You'll regret this, Dupain-Cheng," Lila muttered to herself. "I swear, you'll regret this."

Marinette removed her soaked wet history book from her bag. Alya's eyes widened, as she pushed her own book towards her friend. "Let's share," she whispered. "We'll have to study for the test, so you can come over to my place and study later this week," she added.

"What test?" Marinette asked, dumbfounded.

Most of the students were staring at the screen with bored expressions. "All right class, make sure you are taking good notes because your finals are coming up next month." Miss Bustier said. A loud groan filled the room, and miss Bustier smothered a smile. "Now, now, I know that my finals are known as notoriously difficult, but I have yet to fail a student I have taught. As long as you study, you will do well on the test. And perhaps if you are lucky, I might give you a few extra points for class participation."

Miss Bustier continued with the lecture, and Marinette could not remember the last time she had seen so many of her fellow students answering and asking questions.

When the lecture was over, the students tore out of the room, relieved looks on their faces.

-CN-x-LB-

After the lecture, Marinette trudged back to Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie and went straight to her room. She changed into sweats, fed Tikki a macaron, sat down at her desk and opened the Grimoire. The dark-haired woman started looking at some of the pictures, but two minutes later her phone rang. The teenager went for her phone, tripping over the couch as she did so. Marinette answered the phone and was greeted by her friend, Alya.

"Marinette! I was wondering if you were ever going to answer," Alya said.

Marinette giggled. "How did you know I was home?"

"Because you are always home."

"Well, it's a school night." 'What am I, a teenager? Oh, wait.' Marinette slapped her hand to her forehead.

"What are you, thirteen? Did mommy tell you to go to bed yet?"

"I'm fifteen going on sixteen!"

"I know how old you are."

"Oh, you are hilarious,"

Alya laughed. "I try." There was a small pause. " Marinette, the reason I'm calling is that I wanted to know if you wanted to come out with me and Nino tonight. We are goi-'"

Marinette cut her off "No thanks, I'd rather not. I have a lot to do tonight. I have to read for our history test, draw some new designs, and I have more to translate from this ancient book I've been working on."

"You're going to ask Adrien to help you decipher the ancient Chinese book. Am I right?"

Marinette had told Alya about the Grimoire, that it was an ancient book inherited on her mother's side of the family. The goal was to give Alya the information she wanted without spilling any of the bigger secrets. Marinette felt bad about lying to her best friend, but it was necessary sometimes.

"N-no!" silence."Fine. you're right." Marinette sighed.

"Why not ask your mum for help? It's been in her family for years, right?"

Marinette had considered asking her mother for help, but the Grimoire contained too much information on the miraculous, on potions making and other secrets. If she asked her mother for help, then questions would arise. Where had she gotten the book from? And there was also a risk of blowing her secret identity. Marinette still had doubts about whether this was something she should drag Adrien into, without him realizing her true identity. She knew that he already knew quite a lot because this was the same book that he had taken from his father before. The one she saw him reading in the school library.

"Because.."

"Because you would rather hang out with Adrien?" Alya paused. "Marinette you need to stop doing this, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but he has been dating Kagami for six months now," Alya said. Her voice stern.

"I know how long it's been!" Marinette snapped. "You don't have to remind me."

Alya sighed. "I'm just worried about you. Adrien hasn't really shown any interest in you besides being a good friend, it's been six months, and you haven't dated anybody since. I think it's time to move on."

"I'm not ready. And I don't know if I'll ever be ready. Considering what happened in my life recently, I would think you would understand that."

"I do understand." Alya paused again."Just remember who wept your tears after you discovered that Adrien was dating Kagami. It wouldn't hurt to give Luka a-"

Marinette bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Alya, I really can't talk anymore. Adrien will be here at any minute now. I'm sorry."

"I know. Just promise me one thing. Promise me that you won't swear off Luka forever. You are too pretty and too intelligent to be alone."

Marinette smiled. "I can't promise you that."

"At least think about giving Luka a chance? Please?"

"All right. And Alya?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Have fun with Adrien. Talk to you later girl."

"Bye."

Marinette hung up the phone and sighed. Alya was her best friend, and she wished she could honor her friend's request, but she knew that she couldn't. Luka was just a good friend to her, they had grown a bit closer, but Luka still wasn't a super good friend. Marinette did feel bad for not having a crush on him because he was after all one of the sweetest, kindest and funniest guys she knew of. He was just a really good friend.

-LB-X-CN-

Tom and Sabine were finally able to unwind after an agonizingly long day; both they and Marinette had been deeply burdened throughout this Friday. but now, at long last, it was coming to a close. They only had a few more minutes before they could finally close up the bakery.

And then, the door rang out.

Now, normally Sabine would be a bit disgruntled if a customer came in literally last minute.

"Adrien," she greeted him with a big smile. "What can I do for you, my boy?"

"G-good day Mrs. Cheng!" Adrien grinned. "Uhm...i-is, well, d-do you thi-"

Sabine's smile grew. " Let me guess, you are here to see Marinette?"

Adrien's face turned bright red, confirming her suspicions.

"Well, I know she's working on new designs upstairs. I'll let her know that you want to see her."

Adrien nodded. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, darling."

Adrien followed her up to the living quarters' section of the bakery, she handed him a plate of chocolate chip cookies and camembert. He took a seat on the sofa as Sabine went to check on Marinette. The blonde started grabbing chocolate chip cookies and munched as much as possible.

"Are you even allowed to eat those sickly sweet things?" Plagg murmured as he flew out of Adrien's jacket. "Aren't you a model, didn't your father tell you to watch your figure?"

"Plagg, leave me alone. Let me enjoy myself once in a while, or I'm throwing your Camembert in the trash." the boy warned.

"Fine," Plagg said, then he grabbed the Camembert and quickly swallowed it.

-CN-x-LB-

"Marinette?" her mom asked softly.

"Yes?" Marinette sat at her desk, bent over her latest design.

"You have a visitor, sweetheart."

"Adrien?" she asked enthusiastically.

"It is Adrien, and I think he really wants to see you."

Her eye caught a glimpse of her own Adrien-shrine, and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God," she muttered. Marinette panicked. The dark-haired girl started to pull down all of the Adrien photos one after another. "Mom, I think I'll need a couple of minutes to get ready!"

Sabine giggled lightly. "Of course sweety. Let me know when you are ready for him."

Marinette nodded, and tightly shut the drawer that she had hid her photos in. And then she told Tikki to hide.

-LB-x-CN-

Her mother walked back down the ladder. Adrien asked Plagg to hide, and then Sabine informed him that his daughter needed a couple of minutes.

"O-oh if she's busy then I can come back later."

"You're such a gentleman, Adrien. She does really want to see you, she just needed to fix a couple of things. I think she's afraid you'll think her room is too messy." Sabine laughed good-naturedly.

"It's alright. No need to stress." The blonde-haired boy smiled.

Sabine disappeared for a moment and came back with a new plate of Camembert and cookies. Adrien smiled. He loved how they always made him feel at home whenever he came over visiting. Marinette's mother was one of the kindest people he knew. He started munching on the cookies and hid the Camembert in his pocket. "Thank you so much." He smiled.

Marinette's mother smiled lightly. "Well, I think Marinette should be ready by now. Would you like to go up and see her?

"Sure." Adrien smiled.

And with that, Adrien ascended the flight of the stairs that led up to Marinette's room.

-CN-x-LB-

"Marinette?" Adrien asked softly, entering the room via the trapdoor.

"Over here, Adrien."

She removed the Grimoire from its spot on the bookshelf. The dark-haired girl offered the book to Adrien, and he studied the book and fingered its elegant design. The cover was made of smooth reddish-brown leather with golden details on it. His eyes filled with confusion.

"But isn't this the same book as my father's? I thought he owned the only copy of it."

"I found another copy. I don't want to go into details on how I found it just yet. I was hoping that you would be able to help me translate it. I think it's ancient Chinese or something, and you are the only person I know, besides my mother, who know Chinese." Marinette muttered.

"So, will you help me?"

-CN-x-LB-

Authors note: First of all, thank you so much for your reviews. Guys, I'm kind of stuck now, and I would really appreciate your reviews. What would you like to see happen next? The language in the book is pretty ancient and heavy, I was thinking of Adrien trying to read it for an hour, and then saying that the language is too complicated. Marinette has the scroll with the codes, which might make deciphering the Grimoire easier, but this is a Guardian secret, and it might be too risky to show this to Adrien?

I am going to reveal their identities later on in this fanfic, Marinette needs to know the identity of Chat Noir since she is the new Guardian.

I am also thinking about asking her mom to translate the Grimoire, but I think there might be difficult to explain things for Marinette.

Please let me know your thoughts, and have a good day.

Best wishes from frosty Norway. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: _Obedience. _

She glanced at the clock. It was past midnight. Adrien had been struggling with the Grimoire for more than two hours.

"I'm sorry Marinette, this Grimoire isn't written in Chinese." he pressed his temples in confusion before he turned the page. "I guess it's written in an ancient language."

"It's ok, it's not like it's your fault or something," she paused. "you didn't write the Grimoire." "Not that you are not smart enough to write a Grimoire." she babbled. 'wait, what?'

Adrien offered her a confused look. "No it's not ok, I really wish I could be more of help." the blonde sighed.

Marinette noticed that his hands had started shaking and sweating.

"Don't say it's ok when it's clearly not." he scolded. The boy looked really tense as if he was forcing his body to calm down. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

This wasn't just about the Grimoire anymore, Marinette could sense that Adrien was upset about something else too.

He got up from the chair and walked towards the trapdoor. "I'm sorry, I'm just really tired now."

"It's-" Marinette stopped herself. "We could give this another try later if it's alright with you of course," she replied with her eyes downcast. She was fiddling with her fingernails.

"I honestly do not see the point. It's not like I can translate it tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. It's written in a language I do not understand."

A sigh escaped her pink lips.

"But if translating this Grimoire means that much to you, then yes. I am willing to try again later." He offered her a small smile.

Her face lit up the whole room. "Good night, Adrien."

"Good night, Marinette." He opened the trapdoor and went down the stairs.

-LB-X-CN-

"Tikki, this is hopeless!" the dark-haired girl shuddered. "I'm all alone, Master Fu can't help me, Adrien can't help me, the Order of the Guardians are not willing to help me. And I do not understand why they turned me down." She paused for a minute. "Even my parents can't help me. I can't handle this by myself." she trembled. "Maybe I just had too high expectations, I just wanted him to help me out a bit." she sighed, hanging her head.

"Mari-" Tikki landed on her shoulder.

"Everything has changed so fast, Tikki. EVERYTHING. I keep going between moments where things are going great, and when I finally think I'll be able to reach the top then everything falls down again. Suddenly things are not going ok anymore. It's exhausting. I love being Ladybug, but I can't handle this roller-coaster ride." she took a deep breath. "I-i don't think I am ready to be the Guardian, I still have to go to school, I still have to help out in the bakery, and I still need to fight off Akumas." Another pause. "I just want to be a normal teenager, why can't I be like everyone else my age?" she warned.

"Oh, my sweet Mari." Tikki hugged her holder's cheek. "I hate to tell you this, but you were never destined to be a "normal teenage girl". You were chosen for this task, and you are the strongest wielder I've ever had. You are extraordinary, and now you're the Guardian."

"It's too much. It's all too much. I just need time, but I feel I don't have any. I just want some guidance, some assistance. And now, I'm all alone. I don't have anyone for guidance." she blubbered.

"Mari, you are not alone," she assured her. "You'll always have me. And can always talk to Chat Noir." the pink creature suggested.

"But I have to keep my identity hidden, and Chat Noir isn't a Guardian. So I can't really talk to him without revealing my identity."

Tikki paused. "Mari, I've been meaning to talk to you about that for some time now."

"I'm sorry, what?" she held her breath, tilting her head to one side.

"Regarding the whole secret identities thing. You were right when you said that everything has changed."

Marinette paid attention to every word.

Tikki paused, looking for the right words."Master Fu was afraid of the past coming back to haunt him. That's why he was so strict with you, but it was never a set rule for the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous wielders to stay hidden from each other for all eternity. You and Chat Noir are meant to be equal partners, and I think knowing his true identity would be beneficial for you too in case of emergencies since you are the Guardian,"

The dark-haired girl's eyes widened. She couldn't believe she had been following the rules so strictly, even after Master Fu's disappearance.

"This Miracle Box is in your care now. You get to set the rules."

"Wait, what?" she paused. "So I can show the roll of parchment to Adrien? We can decipher the Grimoire together?" she exclaimed.

"If that's what you truly want, then yes."

"Trust me Tikki, I could really use Adrien's assistance right now, and I've considered it. Although, right now, I just need something to stay the same for some time."

"I understand.-Take your time, don't rush things. Mari."

-CN-X-LB-

Authors note: I think this chapter is a bit short, but I am leaving it here for now. I had the day off from work today and felt quite productive so I managed to write two chapters today. I don't know when I'll be able to write chapter 6, but hopefully, it won't take me too long. I hope you enjoyed chapter 4 and 5!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:** _Planning her move._

Marinette had just started on sketching out a new Ladybug suit. The dark-haired girl impatiently shifted at the noise that assailed the otherwise silence of the bedroom, swallowing her vocal outburst of annoyance. She just wasn't able to concentrate.

Not ninety-three seconds later, it happened again. The young lady sighed testily and arched her back in a subtle stretch, the joints popping as another shot in the silence.

When the silence was broken for the third time, approximately forty-two seconds later after the stretch, Marinette growled a "Hush you." Under her breath.

"What did you say?" Tikki tilted her head.

Marinette sighed as Tikki picked up on the statement. "Nothing." Lowering her eyes back to her drawing again.

"Ok, Marinette."

Honestly, couldn't everything see she had this sketch she just wanted to finish?

The dark-haired woman clapped her hand to her stomach as it growled - for the fourth time - in annoying frequency.

"Was that your stomach?" Tikki questioned.

"I guess it was," Marinette laughed. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?"

"Something sweet." Pollen beamed.

"Something spicy." Trixx cheered.

"Something green." Wayzz chuckled.

"something bitter." Sass zizzled.

"All right." Marinette got up from her chair. "Let me check what I have first." the young lady opened the trapdoor and went down into the kitchen area.

Opening the door of the fridge she scanned the contents, hoping for whatever reason for there to be something other than what had been in there for the past week. The dark-haired girl didn't know why she bothered, really. Marinette knew very well the contents of the refrigerator amounted to a half-gallon of milk, six eggs, a brown banana, some salad and a half-eaten cheese and onion sandwich with the label missing. Not very appealing. "Not much to work with." the girl murmured. She shut the fridge and looked at the group of Kwamis in front of her.

"You don't need to cook for us, Marinette." Tikki protested, flying in front of her. "We'll be all right." Her spotted friend's stomach protested, vociferously.

Marinette couldn't ignore the pink creature's hunger pain. "It's no big deal. I enjoy cooking for you, and besides, I wouldn't be able to talk to you guys if I didn't." The dark-haired girl denied. Her small friend sighed. "I can't wear all of the Miraculous at once, so I have to feed you all frequently." The teenager pulled out the milk and poured a glass. "It's all right, I'll just head down into the bakery section and see what we got ready, if it's really busy down there then I'll just go to the supermarket."

"Why don't you invite your friends, Alya and Nino to come over?" Trixx hinted. "You haven't spent time with them outside of school in ages."

"That's not an option, Trixx. I have to think of you guys first." Marinette drank her glass down.

"We can return into the Miracle box for the time being," Mullo suggested. "There's nothing to fear as long as they don't see us, so surely you can invite your friends over every now and then."

"Yes." Sass slurred. "We'll stay silent and unknown."

"There's really no need to hide, guys." Marinette walked back to the kitchen bench and grabbed her phone. "I'm the Guardian now and one of my main tasks will be looking after you," Marinette started checking out some online takeaway menus on her phone. "I have to focus on the Miraculous first and that means no one, but me enters this room. Even my parents can't come up here to clean my room anymore. I need to start cleaning my own room myself."She paused. "No one can even see the box, let alone you guys. I owe Master Fu at least that much. No friends, no boyfriends, not even family can come up here. Of course my parents can always poke their heads through the trapdoor every now and then, but they can't stay. It must stay private or else I've failed as a Guardian."

"But Marinette, Adrien-" Tikki started to protest.

"Adrien was an exception, I thought he would help me translating the Grimoire." Marinette paused. "It was a one-time thing, he won't be spending too much time over here from now on." Marinette lied.

"But you still need to have a private life too, don't let your Guardian tasks consume your life completely Master." Fluff advised. "Your job is cherished by us and so many others, but it does not take away your humanity."

"I'm the Guardian now and I have my responsibility to you guys above all else. My classmates are a close third and my family is put second after you." Marinette made excuses. "Besides, I get to see all of my friends at school, and I'll see my parents whenever we share meals or when I'm helping in the bakery,"

"But isolating yourself is no good," Roarr warned. "Who knows how you'll react if you get overworked. It's a risk not worth taking."

"I'm not going to isolate myself. As I said, I'll attend school and support my parents in their bakery." Marinette paused. "Besides, I'd only be lying to them. I could never tell my family or friends anything. And you all know how much I hate lies." another pause. "The only person I could ever be almost completely straightforward with was-"

"Chat Noir." Tikki finished.

"Yeah … " She replied with her eyes downcast. She was fiddling with a lock of her dark hair. "I haven't heard from him in 6 months. We haven't been on any patrols recently neither. It's been so silent, no akumatizations. I sometimes wonder if he misses me." the dark-haired girl hesitated. "I mean misses Ladybug."

"Aw, but you two were so cute together." Fluff cheered. "He was always planning things for you two; all of his gestures. He is such a romantic gentleman!"

Marinette inhaled sharply, dropping her phone to the floor. She looked forward in a daze before reaching down to pick it up again. "Well, he doesn't love Ladybug any more." Tears began to form in the corners of Marinette's eyes.

"Of course he does." Pollen insisted. "Even after all these years, you're still his number one lady."

"No. I'm not his number one lady," Marinette sighed. "I heard that he has a girlfriend now, I don't know who she is though," Marinette stated, playing with her fingernails. "Chat Noir moved on a long time ago, so I'm sure he's forgotten all about me by now. I bet Adrien has forgotten about me, too."

"But you're still in love with Adrien," Tikki countered.

"I know, and I think I always will…Tikki, but I can never tell him that." she groaned in agony. "And I need to try and move on, too. Adrien is with Kagami now, and I don't want to lose either of them as friends." another pause." I just want him to be happy. And he was so cheerful with Kagami the last time I saw them. I can't take that away from him."

"But are they exclusive now?" Barkk questioned. "I don't recall hearing anyone say that they were officially a couple."

Tears began to flow freely down Marinette's cheeks. "It doesn't matter! If they're not together at this point, they will be soon. Did you see the way he looked at her? I can't get in the way of that…I can't…take that away from him. He deserves his happiness."

Tikki flew over and started to wipe away Marinette's tears.

"And poor Chat Noir, I put him through so much pain again and again." she agonized. "After every rejection and temper tantrum, I threw over his romantic gestures … it's not right and it never will be." The dark-haired girl faltered. "How could I even do that? No wonder why he gave up and moved along with someone else. I won't … put him through any agony ever again. I don't deserve him at this point, so I'll just have to get over him."

The pink creature nuzzled the top of her holder's head and hummed.

"But why?" Barkk questioned. "Everything would be so much easier." The dog Miraculous pondered. "I couldn't imagine him rejecting Ladybug and being in love is not a crime."

"It's not l-" She stumbled. "It's too late for this now. I got so many chances, I declined all of them." Marinette stopped herself. "I need to move on and focus on other things. I have become the new Guardian, so I'll take that responsibility and focus on you guys from now on, so my future is set in stone. I've made my decision."

"But how do you know he's made his? How do you know he's given up?" Stompp questioned. "You haven't seen each other in over six months because Hawkmoth hasn't akumatized someone. Maybe you've forgotten his ways. Six months is a lot of time."

"I-" she ignored Stompp's questions. "You guys it's getting really late now. And I still have work to do before this day is finished. Should we order some Take-Away instead?"

They all cheered. They hardly ever got to eat Take-Away.

"Chinese!" Longg cheered.

"Sushi!" Roarr roared.

"Pizza!" Wayzz shouted.

"Thai!" Trixx giggled.

'I wonder what I should tell my parents when the delivery guy shows up with 12 different boxes.' She thought to herself. 'I also wonder who's going to pay for all of this.'

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette replaced her Adrien-shrine with a map of Paris. She examined some of her own notes, then she wrote summaries on colorful post-it notes. The dark-head also tried to triangulate Hawk Moth's potential hideouts.

The fact that Hawk Moth and Mayura had been able to track her to Fu and capture him and the Miraculous box frightened her. They had their advantages, strong Akumas, and Sentimonsters, and she was very aware that they were only growing stronger and that she would need help defeating them. Marinette had to act quickly because there was only a matter of time before Hawk Moth and Mayura had formed their strategy, and Marinette was expecting new Akumas and Sentimonsters at any moment. Their break had been too long. However, she viewed their inactivity as a good opportunity for her to plot her own counter-attack.

The young lady couldn't risk leaving the fight to go get help, not when that would put her identity at risk. So, the only logical solution to that problem was to find people she could trust to permanently have Miraculous and help in emergencies. However, giving the Miraculous back permanently to those who had been revealed by Hawk Moth was too risky. He was secretly clever, but he likely wouldn't think that Ladybug would risk giving the same Miraculous permanently to someone that had their identity revealed to him and his allies.

So she went through her classmates and picked the four that she felt would be most suited to hero work and wielding the powers. The dark-haired girl planned to give out the four remaining from the top tier and one two the most versatile of the Zodiacs.

Chloé would never get her hands on the Bee Miraculous ever again, and she had planned to talk to Alya and Nino about the fox and the Turtle Miraculous. She knew that replacing Alya as the Fox Miraculous holder would cause her best friend to react strongly because she was so invested with the Ladyblog.

Keeping both Luka and Kagami was quite a risk, but it was a risk she was willing to take. It seemed like Hawk Moth was only had his eyes on the Ladybug and the Chat Noir Miraculous, anyway. Marinette believed it would be alright as long as he got the Fox Miraculous. Marinette would also make sure to draw out a potential new suit for Kagami to transform into and give her a new nickname.

The dark-haired boy was clever and resourceful, a tactician who was better with actions than words. He was also an observer, and he would be able to make the best use of a musical weapon and the powers the Fox provided.

The girl was highly skilled with a sword. And she was clever with both the element changes and putting her own twist on Ladybug's plans to make them more effective. She would still make for a perfect Dragon. She didn't keep Kagami in the team to please Adrien, she did it for her own advantages.

Giving out Miraculous was a dangerous game, and Marinette found it hard to know whether or not the people she chose were good, honest people.

Rose would get the Bee Miraculous, because she was as sweet as honey. She was also one of the toughest girls Marinette knew of. Most importantly, she was a good team player who cared for everyone around her and that was what mattered the most for an effective Bee.

Mylene would get the Mouse Miraculous. People believed she was a coward, but Marinette knew that a mask would be just the confidence boost she needed in order to stand up for herself.

Juleka would get the Tiger Miraculous, because she was adorkable. She was known as shy, awkward and kind. Giving her the Tiger miraculous could perhaps bring out her true, inner courage.

Max would get the Turtle Miraculous, he was very intelligent, being excellent at knowing facts, statistics, and calculations.

Out of the things Fu had left for her in the locker, she pulled four of the familiar little jewel boxes and started setting the Miraculous up for transport.

"Are you sure about this plan, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"I'm sure. If the Order refuses to give me the assistance I need, then I'm going to do this in my own way. And with no one left for me to really confide in about this… except you and Chat Noir of course-" She stopped herself." I'm just really afraid I'll have another breakdown in the middle of an Akuma attack…," she sighed. "I'm the Guardian now…And as you told me, I get to set the rules now."

"That's reasonable, but… Is giving the Miraculous away permanently really a good idea?"

"The new Miraculous holders won't be obligated to show up for every Akuma. Only if Chat Noir and I seem to be struggling, or if I call them." She paused. "Until Hawk Moth is defeated, my routine of rushing off to get a Miraculous and find a person to use it…," she trailed off.

"He could find out your true identity," she finished.

"All right…I trust you, Mari" Tikki nodded.

-LB-X-CN-


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Hurt

Letters for the new Miraculous keepers were written. The dark-haired girl explained the plan to the tiny creatures and spent a solid hour quarreling with them that her plan was the best solution. Marinette realized that the Kwamis had good reason to argue her plan. After all, revealing herself as Ladybug to the new heroes was risky. If any of them were Akumatized or hit with certain types of blasts, Hawk Moth would learn her identity and he would get his wish. But she felt that the stakes were being raised by the villains and they had to react accordingly.

"Marinette," Pollen hesitated. "Is this goodbye?"

"No, Pollen. We'll meet again, often. I promise."

Marinette was discreet with setting up her hand out. The teenager didn't want anyone that she couldn't trust figuring out her plan. Unfortunately, with all points on her map pointing to Gabriel Agreste despite his previous Akumatization, and her deductions after Bunnix dragged her into the future to fight Chat Blanc, that list included Adrien. But, she had just the Miraculous to deliver her notes to her chosen heroes: The Rat and Horse. She became Multimouse during lunch hour at school and divided herself after unifying her chosen Miraculous.

One copy slipped into Rose's locker to wait for her, while another went to Juleka's seat in their classroom. The other ones would hide in every corner at the school and hope for the best. One copy used Vortex to teleport to Kagami's private school while another went to Luka's school.

-CN-X-LB-

Rose opened her locker to fetch her History book and shrieked in surprise at the tiny girl sitting on her lunch with an envelope that was too large for a mouse to carry in her hands. Her blue eyes grew wide.

"Rose Lavillant,"

"Yes?" she hesitated "but who are you, and how do you know my name?" Rose paused and realized that the tiny girl had to be one of those superheroes. "Never mind, why are you in my locker?"

"I have a letter for you." the tiny heroine spoke, holding the envelope up. Rose hesitated, but took the letter and opened it.

The letter asked Rose to meet Ladybug at the south leg of the Eiffel Towe after their band rehearsal.

"Ladybug wants me to join her team as a permanent hero?" Rose exclaimed.

The tiny heroine nodded.

"I'm not sure whether or not I'm the right choice, but I'll meet her once my band rehearsal is finished and tell her my decision." Rose smiled.

The letter was signed with Ladybug's trademark signature on the back. The blonde girl reread the letter several times before giving it back to the tiny heroine.

"But, I'll be there," the teenage girl promised before grabbing her history book and shutting the locker on Multimouse. Luckily, there were no witnesses and she got the feeling that Ladybug had somehow planned it that way. And she had faith in her to be a hero.

-LB-X-CN-

Mylène was on her way to the restrooms. The young girl almost didn't notice the mouse-sized girl with an envelope bearing Ladybug's signature, hiding in a corner.

"Whoa." she paused. "You're so tiny! Hello, who are you?" she bent down, and fully looked at the tiny girl in her simple grey pantsuit with a thin black belt that hung as a tail. Soft pink buttons ran down her torso and her mask was pastel pink with grey trim. Her blue-grey hair was styled to emulate mouse ears and Mylène couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable.

"Mylène Haprèle, I'm Multimouse and I have a letter for you!" The tiny heroine said lightly, holding up the large envelope. The blonde teenager paused and took the envelope from the small mouse, opened it and begun reading.

The letter told Mylène to meet Ladybug at the north leg of the Eiffel Tower once school had finished.

"I'm not sure if she picked the right person, I surely don't feel like a hero, but I'll meet Ladybug later." She smiled.

The tiny heroine grinned at her before slipping out of the hallway with the envelope in hand.

-LB-X-CN-

Max turned around as he heard a tiny sneeze coming from behind him. He gasped as he saw the tiny girl hiding behind the vending machine in the cafeteria.

"Good afternoon, Max Kanté!" The tiny heroine greeted him. "I have an important message to you from Ladybug." she squeaked. She handed him the envelope, and he started reading the letter eagerly.

"Ladybug wants me to join her team as a permanent hero? But why?" he asked.

"If you come to the east leg of the Eiffel Tower after sunset, then Ladybug will let you know why." She informed him.

"I'll see her there, then," he confirmed and returned the envelope to the tiny girl.

-CN-X-LB-

Juleka's class went without a hitch, and as she was packing up her things to leave, she saw a tiny mouse girl hiding behind her pencil case. Everyone else had hurriedly thrown their things in their bags and left, so she was all by herself in the classroom. The dark-haired girl almost dropped her pencil case on the tiny heroine.

"Wow." she paused. "Awesome."

Multimouse giggled. "Hello, Juleka Couffaine! I am Multimouse, Ladybug sent me to give you an important message. Please let her know your decision as soon as possible." the tiny creature smiled. She handed the envelope to Juleka and the dark-haired girl started reading the letter.

"I don't think I'm hero material," Juleka muttered.

"Ladybug has faith in you, Juleka. She wants you on the team. Please, meet her at the west leg of the Eiffel tower before Rose's band rehearsal."

"I'll see Ladybug later, then," she confirmed and gave the letter back to the small heroine.

-CN-X-LB-

Kagami was eating her lunch alone in an out-of-use classroom, reading through 'How to Make & Keep Friends: Tips for Teens on Life and Social Success'. The yellow-brown-eyed girl scowled and flipped the page. Making friends was difficult, she never seemed to get it. Kagami had started to feel lonely recently, and she wanted to do something about it.

A small noise alerted her and she started to hit the source with her manual. The fencer's swing came to a halt when she realized that the source was a microscopic girl wearing a simple grey pantsuit who had cleared her throat softly. The teenager's first assumption was that this girl was an Akuma and she pulled her hand back to start again with her attack. She stopped again when the tiny girl held up an envelope with Ladybug's seal almost as a shield.

"Please stop, I'm not dangerous." The tiny heroine said lightly. "And I didn't mean to scare you."

Scowling, she put down her manual and fully focused on the tiny girl wearing a mask. The fencer gently took the envelope from the girl and opened it.

"Good afternoon, Kagami Tsurugi, I was sent here by Ladybug. She has an important letter for you, please do read it."

"Ladybug? I didn't expect to hear from her for some time." she began to read through the letter. "But…Hawk Moth revealed my identity. He knows that I was Ryuuko…it doesn't seem like something that someone like Ladybug would risk a third time-" she informed, handing the letter back to the small heroine.

"Please, Kagami. Meet Ladybug outside Louvre at midnight. She'll explain the details if you meet her. Will you be there?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I will."

-LB-X-CN-

Luka was alone in the Music Room working on another song. Most of the students went to the library and the cafeteria during lunch, so he had this space all to himself to work on songs or decompress after a long morning of dealing with fellow students. Just the way he liked it. If the dark-haired boy didn't have this alone time, he wouldn't be able to make it through the second half of his school days.

"Nice tune," a tiny voice said behind a music stand."I'm down here, Luka Couffaine,"

His eyes shifted downward to see a girl no bigger than a mouse approaching with an envelope that was twice her size. If the sight of the girl didn't look so absurd, then he would have thought it was adorable. The dark-haired teenager put his guitar aside and lowered himself to the floor to get a better look at her.

"That envelope looks awfully heavy," he paused. "Do you want help? I could take it off your hands…"

"Well, this letter was meant for you anyway and I have to take it back once you're finished reading it." the microscopic girl said matter-of-factly. He tilted his head to one side and took the envelope.

"Please meet Ladybug in front of Notre-dame before sunset," she informed him.

"I thought Hawk Moth had revealed our identities, having me on the team will be strange…but I'll be there," he promised and handed the letter back to the tiny heroine.

-CN-X-LB-

When all the copies of Multimouse were back together, afternoon classes were well underway and Marinette was glad that she'd warned her teachers that she was going to be taking the afternoon for business, which wasn't a lie as she got to work on some sketches.

The dark-haired girl went to her locker. 'So much to do, so little time.' she thought.

"Marinette? "

Adrien had just walked into the hallway. Marinette swallowed and turned to face him.

"A-adrien, w-what do you want?"

"I was on my way to the cafeteria, I still haven't eaten yet." He paused. "Are you leaving this early?"

"Yes. I got the rest of the day off. I got dings to do." she blushed. "I mean things to do."

"I see. Well, ciao for now." then he winked at her and left for the cafeteria.

But he was stopped in his tracks by the dark-haired girl calling after him "Adrien?"

The blonde turned, offering her the most dazzling smile. "Yeah?"

"Er...,have a good day!"

Adrien's expression turned one of surprise for a moment, and then he was smiling even wider than he had been before. "You too, Marinette."

-LB-x-CN-

"Shit," Marinette muttered as she picked up the books that just fell out of her locker.

"Need some help?"Lila asked her while leaning against her locker, which was conveniently next to Marinette's. She sent the dark-haired girl a death glare.

"O-oh Lila. Um. He-hey!" Marinette stammered nervously, "No, it's alright. You can just stand there and watch me," she replied sarcastically.

"Oh Good," Marinette found herself pushed to the ground. "I wasn't going to help you anyway," she smirked.

"L-lila?!"

"Ah, Marinette, would you just cut the crap already?" Lila hissed in disgust. The dark-haired girl was taken aback by how hostile the girl's tone was. "We both know that the whole 'shy, stammering idiot' thing is all an act. Just a ploy to get Adrien to notice you." Lila added, standing over her petite body.

'Whatever you do, don't look her in the eyes Marinette.' She thought.

"S-Sorry? what?" Marinette pushed herself as far into the lockers as she could, her entire body shaking with fear. Her heart was racing against her chest, the sound of it echoed in her ears. "L-Lila. W-why are you doing this?"

"Maybe, you're hoping that Adrien will start to feel sorry for you. Take you under his wing - damn," Lila leaned in closer to Marinette's face, pressing her face toward the floor, "maybe he'd even date you out of pity." She whispered into Marinette's ear.

The dark-haired girl flushed bright red. "N-no. Lila. T-that's not it-"

"Shut up!" Lila barked. Her face was burning red, seething with anger. "I just want you to know something, Marinette. Adrien is mine. He loves me. And only me. So back off!" The brunette straightened and glared at the trembling Marinette. "And besides, he'd never want a stammering freak like you."

Marinette winced when she said freak, and Lila smirked.

The brunette sauntered away, satisfied that she had caused enough damage. Marinette watched her go, curled up in a ball on the floor. Her things strewn around her locker.

Her purse was half open. She was bent over, staring at the ground. Her chest started to hurt and she found it harder to breathe. It felt like someone had forced all of the air from her lungs and sucked it from the room while they were at it. Her blue eyes were fixed on a small puddle on the floor.

Tikki was bouncing around in her purse. Trying to get the girl's attention.

"Marinette!" Tikki desperately cried out. " You need to stay strong, you need to snap out of this, or else you might end up Akumatized! You need to focus on handing out the Miraculous. Don't let this get to you."

Marinette could hear someone calling out her name again and again before saying something to her, but it sounded like they were underwater speaking through cotton. Her heartbeat, however, was deafening and frantic in her ears. Tikki's voice gradually disappeared, for she was focused instead on Lila's words and the way her mind twisted them so vigorously.

You're a** freak**, Marinette. No one wants you. No one will **ever** want you!

-LB-X-CN-

"I feel sick," Marinette mumbled. She stood shakily and walked robotically towards the restroom. She then locked herself in one of the stalls, knelt on the floor, hands tightly gripping the toilet seat as she vomited violently into the toilet. Her body convulsing from the vomit shooting out of her mouth. Again she grabbed onto the toilet seat as another spasm sent more acidy hot puke up her throat.

The teenage girl was crying from the sheer force of liquid shooting up from her stomach.

Her insides cramped and throbbed, as spit hung in great, thready lines from her lips.

"Oh God!" she moaned, as another horrible gush of throw up churned itself up from the depths of her being.

Marinette coughed, sending the streams of wet spit splattering into the vomit below.

Now her chest hurt. It clenched with every spasm almost causing her to cry out in pain.

Her hands grasped onto the toilet seat so hard that she was sure they were stuck there.

Marinette couldn't lift her head.

She closed her eyes as she let herself lay more weight against the toilet, her arms suddenly too tired to hold her up anymore.

When she finished, she sat against the wall, as she tried to catch her breath. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

Tikki flew out of her purse.

"Marinette?"

"Tikki, do you know what it's like to be surrounded by people, yet feel more alone than ever?"

No response.

"I do," Marinette added.

"Marinette, please don't cry! Adrien will see the truth, no matter how many times she lies. Nino and Alya too." Tikki tried to bring out hope in the girl, but it seemed that she was losing her.

A sob was heard. Followed by another. And another. And now, they grew louder. Marinette was known as the positive girl who hardly ever broke down. Who didn't show much emotions. And now, she didn't know how to release the pain she felt from within.

"Marinette, please stop crying, you could attract an Akuma. And we don't have time for that at the moment."

Marinette began to hyperventilate. She was gasping, trying to breathe through the pain.

"I couldn't care less about Akumas right now, Tikki. Ladybug and Chat Noir will save the day. Just please, leave me alone."

"But Marinette, you are Ladybug. And you have people waiting for you later this evening!"

"Tikki, I said leave me alone!"

-LB-X-CN-

The dark-haired girl wiped at her mouth "Tikki...," she paused. "I'm very, very sorry I yelled at you." she apologized.

"Mari-" the small creature cupped Marinette's tear-stained and red-eyed face.

"I wouldn't be the same without you. I am truly sorry."

"It's alright Mari, you've been through so much. You don't deserve that girl making things even worse for you. I fear for what might happen if she starts bullying you and spreading lies. You need allies now, more than ever. If she starts turning people against you, then I fear-"

"I won't hurt myself."

"I'm glad to hear that, however, you don't deserve this." Tikki paused. "But it's all right Mari, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Tikki said. "but we don't have much time. We got a lot of work to do. The clock is ticking and people are waiting." but take your time, I don't want you to feel sick again."

Marinette smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 The Calm Before the Storm

Right before school was scheduled to let out, she transformed using the Horse Miraculous and created a portal to the Eiffel Tower. After dropping her transformation in a hidden corner, she went to the North corner of the landing and waited patiently. Heavy footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

"Marinette?" she heard Mylène gasp and the blunette turned to face her. "Sorry…I just wasn't expecting anyone to be here…no one ever uses this landing anymore…" The blonde girl murmured.

"That's why I picked this place," she said lightly, reaching into her bag. The blunette double-checked the jewelry box and nodded to herself.

"You did? But I'm supposed to be meeting with-" the blonde broke off, clearly realizing the need for secrecy.

"Ladybug?" she finished for her, holding out the jewelry box. "I couldn't risk anyone seeing Ladybug here giving out Miraculous. I draw too much attention when I'm wearing that suit," she laughed. "I wanted to meet you without the mask on, so I'm revealing myself to you," she added.

"But why? I thought that it was super important to keep our civilian identities secret...,"

"And you are absolutely correct, but this is what's best to finish this fight, I think. Now…this is the Miraculous of the Mouse, which grants the power of Multitude," she said and the blonde girl hesitantly took the box from her. "You won't be obligated to appear for every Akuma. Only if Chat Noir and I seem to be struggling, or if I call you."

"This is so much to take in, and I want to understand, but…you're giving the Miraculous away permanently? Why?"

"Until Hawkmoth is defeated, my routine of rushing off to get a Miraculous and find a person to use it…," she trailed off.

"He could blow your cover and find out who you are," The blonde girl guessed.

Marinette offered the girl a small nod.

Mylène opened the box. "You can count on me, Marinette." she smiled. Mullo appeared in a ball of light and Mylène gasped in surprise.

"Hello," Mullo greeted. "My name is Mullo, and I shall be your Kwami. Marinette…," the Kwami turned to her.

"I know, Mullo," she sighed. "Now, Mylène…I'm the only one that can know your civilian identity. Nobody else on the team can know. And I hate asking you to keep such a huge secret from Ivan, but…"

"I understand, Marinette," Mylène said. "I'm glad you think you can trust me with this…I'm just…not sure I can do this, I get easily frightened. I might just slow you down."

"Mylène, you're perfect for this job. I believe in you." she smiled to her and the blonde girl put the necklace on.

"You won't be disappointed," she promised. "And…you can call me Anonymouse."

"All right. I look forward to working with you," she said brightly as Mullo flew around to find a hiding place in Mylène's jacket. "You should get to practice, Mullo will give you more information later," she added after checking the time on her phone. Mylène nodded and hurried off.

-LB-X-CN-

Marinette moved to the West Leg to wait for Juleka. The dark-haired girl arrived precisely 10 minutes before Kitty Section's rehearsal, and twenty minutes after Mylène left. Marinette smiled and mentally cheered her planning.

"M-marinette? I didn't expect meeting you here."

"Let me guess, you thought you were going to meet with Ladybug?"

Juleka nodded.

"Well, I thought it would be better to meet you without the mask. And besides, I can't risk being interrupted when I'm handing out the Miraculous."

"But I thought-"

"That our identities were supposed to stay secret? Well, that's true. And you can't tell anyone - neither Rose nor Luka - that you are on Ladybug's team. I know it will be hard since you are living with Luka, but I'm trusting you, Juleka."

"But why me? I'm not brave? I'm certainly not hero material."

"Oh, Juleka. I have chosen you because you are a good friend and because I have faith in you. I'm proud to have you on my team. Please don't doubt yourself. As long as you practice, then you'll be fine." Marinette paused. "I believe in you, Juleka. You don't have to get involved if you're not comfortable with it, and you don't have to fight if Chat Noir and I have it covered. "

"Understood." Juleka nodded.

"I'm offering you the Miraculous of the Tiger, which grants the power of camouflage," she said and the dark-haired girl hesitantly took the box from her. Roarr appeared in a ball of light and Juleka gasped in surprise.

"Awesome."

"Hello," Roarr purred. "My name is Roarr, and I shall be your Kwami."

"I'll do my best, Marinette. And you can call me... Tinka."

"All right. Roarr will give you all the information you need. I look forward to working with you," she said brightly as Roarr flew around to find a hiding place in Juleka's pink bag.

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette moved to the South Leg to wait. Rose arrived almost precisely fifteen minutes after the end of the Kitty Section practice.

"Waait, Marinette, did you get the letter from the cute little mouse too?" Rose paused. "Don't tell me, you're Ladybug?" Rose gasped. Marinette nodded. "No way."

"Rose, I'm granting you the Miraculous of the Bee, granting the power of Venom. Your Kwami will explain your powers in full," she told her. "You must protect your civilian identity at all costs, you can't tell anyone that you're on my team, not even Juleka. Understood?"

"I understand. I will do my best."

"I'm giving you this Kwami permanently, but you won't be obligated to appear for every Akuma. Only if Chat Noir and I seem to be having problems, or if I call you."

The blunette gently opened the jewelry box and put the comb in Rose's hair, pushing her blonde bangs back with it. Pollen appeared and floated to the side.

"Hello," Pollen buzzed. "My name is Pollen, and I shall be your Kwami."

"You can call me Beatrix," Rose smiled.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Bea!" Marinette grinned as Pollen flew around to find a hiding place in Rose's green bag.

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette was waiting for Max at the East Leg.

"Marinette, did you get the invitation as well?" Max hesitated, "Wait, I guess you're ladybug then?"

"Correct!" she smiled, reaching into her pink bag. The blunette double-checked the jewelry box and nodded to herself. Then she offered the box to Max.

"Max, welcome on my team. I'm the only one that can now your true identity, not even the other teammates can know. Now…this is the Miraculous of the Turtle, which grants the power of Protection," she said and he hesitantly took the box from her. "You won't be obligated to appear for every Akuma. Only if Chat Noir and I seem to be struggling, or if I call you."

Max opened the box. "You can count on me." Wayzz appeared in a ball of light and Max gasped in surprise.

"Hello," Wayzz greeted. "My name is Wayzz, and I shall be your Kwami."

"I'm glad you think you can trust me with this Marinette…I just…I'm not fast,…"

"Max, you're perfect for this job. During Akuma attacks, I want you to focus on protecting the Civilians and giving ground cover," she explained to him and he put the bracelet on.

"You won't be dissapointed," he promised. "And…you can call me Tortuga-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The blunette and Max leaped apart at the blood-curling scream and soon enough the usual explosions and insanity that followed an Akuma attack could be heard clearly a few blocks away.

"W-what's going on?!" Max wondered.

"Sorry Max, " The bluebell eyed girl said regretfully." This is the first Akuma attack in months. I think Chat Noir and I should be able to handle this ourselves, so I'll see you later. Duty calls." Max nodded. "Tikki," she yelled. "Spots on!" And with that Ladybug immediately swooped away and right into danger.

-CN-X-LB-

The cries of fear erupted from the city as large green vines simultaneously erupted from the earth and began crushing the houses as if they were ants. The ground beneath Ladybug shook as small, green, vines wrapped around her ankles. She fought back and managed to get out of the vines' tight grip.

"Don't step on the flowers!" The Akumatized woman yelled to the kids who were running around playing in the flower bed. They started crying and rushed right back into their parents' safe embraces.

Ladybug launched her yo-yo at the Akumatized woman. Her skin was green, and she was wearing a skintight suit covered with red roses.

"I am Vespertina, and I have come for Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses!" she screamed, catching Ladybug's yoyo and tugging it away from her. "I will teach the people who disrespect nature a lesson, plants are like family to me, and they deserve to be treated with respect, not stomped on!" The auburn-haired woman shouted while throwing Ladybug's yoyo away.

"Where are you, Kitty?" Ladybug muttered while running towards Vespertina.

As if on cue, Chat Noir appeared next to her. "Did you miss me, Bugaboo?" he teased, grabbing her yoyo and handing it to her with a small bow.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and groaned. "Her name is Vespertina, the Akuma is the white rose next to her heart. "

"I'm sorry, I'm catfused, why can't the Akuma be in one of the red roses?"

"Because white roses represent purity. This woman thinks she's the savior of nature, so in her eyes, she's a pure heroine. Hawk Moth has made this one really easy." She explained. "Chat, I need you to distract her, and I'll try to rip the rose off."

Chat Noir used his stick and launched himself at Vespertina, who was raising both hands in the air as vines shot out of the ground and began wrapping around a blonde girl. She whimpered in pain and gasped for air.

"Chat, never mind what I said, help the girl!" Ladybug shouted.

The blonde girl tried to squirm out of the vine's tight grip, tears of pain welled up in her eyes.

"You should know better than to step on those flowers, plants have feelings too." Vespertina sneered. The auburn-haired villain tightened her vines making the child scream as the thorns dug into her skin.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir flung his hand up in the air, letting the bouncing black orbs swirl around his hand and collect in the center of his palm, clenching his fist around them and making a leap for the vine, his lips curled in a snarl. The vine turned black and withered away. The blonde girl quickly thanked Chat and ran back to her mother who was waiting for her on the other side of the road.

"Ladybug, watch out!" Chat Noir shouted.

Vespertina summoned another thorny vine and slashed it against Ladybug's cheek. She winced in pain as red liquid began to ooze out of the new wound.

"I've had enough of this green flower hippie now." Ladybug groaned.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug yelled, tossing her yo-yo into the air, and in her hands fell a... garden hose? 'How am I supposed to use this? There are no taps nearby.' she thought to herself. The heroine scanned her surroundings, but nothing made much sense.

She felt something soft touch her legs, then she realized that she was standing in a flower bed. Ladybug connected the end of the hose to the garden tap, stretched the other end out from the tap in a straight line, closed off the nozzle on the end of the hose and filled it up with water. Ladybug quickly turned around and saw her chance.

"Chat, you have to move, or else you might end up as a wet kitty." She aimed the nozzle at Vespertina and unlocked it. A gush of water erupted from it, knocking Vespertina to the ground. "Chat, rip of the white rose, now!" Ladybug yelled.

He quickly ripped off the white rose and threw it in Ladybug's direction. She caught it, then she stomped on it.

"Time to de-evilize!" she shouted and caught the Akuma in her yo-yo. "Gotcha!"

Ladybug then opened her yo-yo, and out came a white butterfly. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." she waved as a little papillon flew away. She picked up the garden hose and threw it as far into the air as she managed. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A thousand little ladybugs flew from the garden hose and turned Paris back to normal.

"Well, another success," Ladybug grinned and held out her fist to her superhero partner. "Pound it!

However, the expected fist pump didn't occur. Confused, she looked around and saw Chat Noir not looking at her, his face completely serious.

"Chat, are you all right?"

"Ladybug, can we talk, alone?"

"Right now?!" a beep sounded in Ladybug's ears and she instinctively looked around for something to grapple away to. Ladybug looked up at the setting sun. "Oh snap," she murmured, "I will be late."

"Late for what?" Chat Noir inquired.

"I'm going to meet up with a friend."

"A friend, huh?" He didn't seem convinced.

"Yeah," she paused. "Can we talk later? Perhaps on our next patrol or-"

Silence.

"Ahhh," he groaned. "Fine."

"Thanks, Chaton." She smiled. "Bug out!"

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette teleported to Notre- dame. Luka was late too. The bluebell eyed girl shifted as she tapped her foot impatiently. She sighed with worry.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Luka apologized. "Hey, Marinette. Fancy seeing you here." He greeted her. "Wait, you're Ladybug, aren't you?

"You're absolutely right." she nodded.

"That explains a lot," Luka sighed. Marinette gave him the box.

"Luka, you're already familiar with these jewelry boxes, but this time, I'm going to offer you the Miraculous of the Fox which grants the power of Illusion. And as always, keep your civilian identity secret. Nobody must know, not even Juleka, even though you are living in the same cabin. Trixx will give you all the information you need. You'll only be called in whenever Chat Noir and I are in trouble."

"Got it. And you can call me Kitsune."

"I'm glad to have you on my team again, Kitsune." She said brightly as Trixx flew around to find a hiding place in Luka's hoodie.

-LB-X-CN-

Marinette teleported to Louvre to wait for the fencer. Kagami arrived almost precisely fifteen minutes after midnight. The Bluebell eyed girl smirked.

"Marinette? Why are you here ?" Kagami questioned.

"I felt restless and decided to go for a short stroll," she said lightly, pulling out the box containing the Dragon Miraculous. "And since hardly anyone ever comes here at this hour, I figured that it would be the perfect place for this meeting."

"Then that would mean that you're Ladybug," the fencer guessed and Marinette laughed lightly.

"Exactly," Marinette agreed, turning to hold out the jewelry box. "You're already familiar with Longg-sama, and you already know about her powers. Anyway, I brought a couple of sketches for a new suit. Have a look at them and let me know what you're thinking of them. I would also advise you to use a different name."

"Wait a second," Kagami paused. "You're giving me the Dragon Miraculous again? Isn't that a bit risky with Hawkmoth and his allies knowing that I'm Ryuuko…,"

"You're absolutely right, Kagami. They know that you are Ryuuko."

"Don't you think he'll get suspicious?"

"We're talking about a man who's Akumatized a baby five times, an AI robot," Marinette paused. "And the same pigeon man half a dozen times…," she pointed out.

"Good point," Kagami sighed. "So, these sketches…?" Marinette nodded and presented the drawings.

"I might have gotten too carried away getting inspired by Japanese culture," Marinette laughed as Kagami looked over the designs.

"These…are absolutely stunning! You're really talented, Marinette. And how exactly is the suit going to change?"

"I have a book of spells that I can use on your Miraculous to make sure the suit would change, but I haven't started on translating those spells yet, so you need to come to my place later and I will put the spell on Longg. However, I'm positive it will work," she assured her.

"Then you and Chat Noir can call me Kiyohime," Kagami said lightly, opening the jewelry box and putting on the choker. Longg gave a flourishing bow and flew into Kagami's bag.

"I'm looking forward to working with you again!" Marinette smiled.

Marinette transformed with the Horse Miraculous once Kagami had sauntered away. Then she went home and put the Horse Miraculous into the Miraculous box again. She took a shower before she transformed into Ladybug and went on patrol. While she was roaming the city, she spotted Chat Noir sitting atop one of the towers of Notre Dame. She frowned and went to check on him.

-CN-X-LB-


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: _Some Things are Meant to Be._

When Ladybug landed on the rooftop, she greeted him. "Hey, Kitty,"

"Oh... Hey, Ladybug." he greeted, not looking at her.

"That's it? No flirting, no cat puns? I might actually be able to tolerate you now if you continue acting this way," Ladybug teased as she sat on the edge of the roof.

Chat Noir laughed hollowly at her remark. Ladybug could tell something was bothering her partner tonight.

"Chat, are you all right? Did something happen?"

The black cat shook his head."It's nothing, My lady. umm...I was simply thinking about how dazzling you look tonight."

Normally the Heroine would accept the compliment and tell him to stop acting so cheesy, but Ladybug had known him for too long to fall for it. The blunette simply raised her eyebrow incredulously at the black cat.

"Chat, we're partners, you're one of my best friends, I do care about you, a lot. I don't want to see you depressed. It just doesn't suit a soul as pure as yours to have any darkness in its features." She paused. "You can talk to me, I'll always be here to hear you out."

The black cat was baffled. He had always hoped that Ladybug considered him at least a friend. While he was hopelessly in love with her and wanted nothing more than taking her out on a date, hearing that she considered him to be one of her best friends felt incredible. Being friends was always a good start.

"All right, all right, I'll talk." The blonde paused. "But I wasn't lying about the way you look, You do look as lovely as always," he replied fast. He chuckled nervously after his response.

"Chat, you wanted to talk, so we're going to talk. You can flirt later." A cool breeze swept through her hair and caused her to shiver slightly.

"This is going to be hard," Chat Noir muttered under his breath.

Ignoring the way her heart leaped at his words, she tried to analyze his tone. He sounded nervous and uncertain.

The black cat inhaled sharply.

"Ladybug," he paused, rubbing his temples nervously. "Have you ever..., had a crush on somebody?"

Her face turned as red as her suit. "A c-crush?" she stammered. Ladybug's face was turning redder with each passing second as she was staring down on her feet. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes tightly before squeaking out "Yes," she hesitated. "Yes, I can relate. W-what did this have to do with what is bothering you?"

"Well there's this girl that I have my eyes on." Chat ran his hands through his messy blonde hair. "She's... she's amazing - no, amazing doesn't even-" The blonde let out a dreamy sigh, "She's beautiful... confident... strong... she's perfect. I can't stop thinking about her."

She felt her heart tighten. "I-I see, she sounds wonderful, Chat." '_Oh God, oh God, oh God_,' Ladybug thought.

"She's extraordinary." He leaned forward, clasping his hands in his lap. "she's strong, graceful and always in control." he laughed softly. "She kind of has an cattitude sometimes, but I like that about her." Chat Noir turned to look at her, letting out a heavy sigh. "I want to tell her how I feel, but...," he paused. "I doubt she would be interested in getting to know my civilian identity."

"Is your real self as much of a flirt?"

"This might come as a shock, but I'm actually very calm mannered in the real world. "

The heroine tried to imagine a calm Chat Noir, and started giggling.

"Yeah, go ahead, mock the kitty. Laugh. I'm so glad you're taking this seriously..."

Ladybug calmed herself down a bit. "But Chat, you have to admit that a calm and well-behaved version of Chat Noir sounds a bit far fetched,"she halted. "but all right, if you say so. Go on."

"If you only knew." his voice faltered. "I don't know how deep I can go into this without going into too many details, you would most likely be able to put two and two together and figure out my identity."

"Try me." she laughed. "I'm sure what you have to say can't be that revealing."

"In all seriousness," he started. "I'm not living what you'd call a normal teenage life," he hesitated. "In my day to day life, I may or may not be famous." another pause. "I may or may not have been in a movie, been interviewed in magazines and on TV, and kind of super-rich."

"Wow." Ladybug responded. "Are you sure you're actually famous?"

"Trust me," the black cat grinned, "I and my forty million Instagram followers are one-hundred percent sure." his voice faltered. "But I'm not an Instagram celebrity," he quickly added.

"Honestly, I'm not shocked. Your hair is way too nice for a normal teenager." she laughed. "All kidding aside though, you have a larger than life personality, so it's not hard imagining you as a celebrity."

"I act nothing like this when the mask is off. I feel like a total social outcast most of the time, because I'm a tad repressed. I'm not saying that I'm a complete different person when the mask comes on, but there are certain expectations I have to meet once the mask comes off. I have to meet these expectations because I'm a rather well known public figure. So, I can't behave the way I want to behave all the time, so not a lot of people get to know my personal side. I have a best friend, but he hardly comes over because my father dislikes him. My father also keeps me isolated in our house."

"Sounds.. rough." Ladybug scooched closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Who I get to be as Chat Noir is who I am inside my head all the time. Sometimes I wish I could stop my brain for overthinking and just be myself. I fear people would end up disappointed if they got to see the real me." he sighed.

"Why do you think anyone would get disappointed if you behaved like your true self? You're an amazing person. Sure you're a bit of a flirt, and you go a bit overboard with the puns, but if you are half as kind and sweet as you are as Chat Noir, then no one will end up disappointed. Yes, I've been frustrated with you a couple of times, but you have never made me feel disappointed. I know for a fact that I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you. I can honestly say that you've made me a better person." Ladybug offered Chat Noir her biggest, most sincere smile.

Chat blushed bright pink and lowered his head. He could feel the prickling heat of tears threatening to leave his eyes.

"You have no idea how much I needed to hear those words, my lady. I usually have fangirls fawning over me, and they believe that I'm perfect. I'm like a Ken doll in their eyes. I just want someone to look past my shiny blonde hair and stupid pretty face. I want to be more than just a teen heartthrob who has his pictures in a magazine. I just want someone to know the real me." he paused. Your words made me feel seen for the first time in a long while, thank you."

"No need to thank me, Chaton." she smiled. "And by the way, you remind me of this guy I know, in the beginning I thought he was just a spoiled brat. He's also living an isolated life in his father's house, " she paused. "And he also has the same sad look in his eyes as yours had tonight." another pause. "He also gets really nervous in social settings, he doesn't have a lot of self-esteem, and his father is also really strict." her voice faltered. "This is going to sound crazy, but it's as if you two are the same guy,"

Chat Noir blushed, but he didn't reply.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them.

"So, let's get back on track, let's talk about your crush,"Ladybug said. "What does she look like?"She fiddled with her thumbs, not knowing what to do.

"Well, she has dark hair," he began. "She has an aura of power and intelligence around her that no one can extinguish." his emerald eyes borrowed into Ladybug's. " and - oh gods, her eyes. every time I look at her, I gape like an idiot at her eyes, those bluebell eyes,"

"Oh,"

"She's the bravest and most formidable girl I've ever met."

Ladybug looked away. "You really think all of that about her?"

"Yeah," he paused. "Ladybug, I like you a lot. I've been liking you for some time now."

Ladybug froze. Chat was talking about her this whole time. She wanted to answer, but her voice failed her.

"What's the matter?" he smiled. "Chat got your tongue?" he teased easing back to his old flirtatious self.

The girl laughed hollowly at his comment.

His ears dropped. "Ladybug, are you all right?"

"I-it's nothing." Ladybug answered weakly.

Chat looked at her blankly.

"Hey, don't say it's nothing when there's clearly something that is bothering you. What's wrong?"

"I-it's just." Ladybug hesitated. "I feel bad."

Chat blinked. Then blinked again. "What for?"

"This isn't the first time you've tried to confess your love to me, you have asked me out again and again, and I've turned you down every time. Sometimes in a rather mean way. You spoke so highly of me now, and I feel guilty because I-" she offered him a weak smile. "I can't return your feelings, Chat. I like someone else."

Chat sat stalk still as he stared at Ladybug, unblinking. Honestly, Ladybug wasn't sure if he was breathing until Chat sighed softly, kind of deflating "Okay," he said, nodding. "Okay."

"Okay?!" Ladybug replied, shocked. She had just rejected his feelings -again-, romantic feelings, and the only thing the black cat could say was ' okay'? A pang hit Ladybug, but she quickly ignored it as she looked at Chat Noir worriedly.

"Oh, Bugaboo there's no need to feel guilty. You can't control your feelings." he put his hand on her shoulder."It's okay."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"I'm paw-sitive."Chat Noir grounded out, clearly annoyed with Ladybug once again questioning him.

She smiled brightly. "Great. Good." Her face started to hurt from how much she was grinning. It was like a weight was lifted, but it came crashing down when Chat Noir attempted to smile back. It couldn't even be called a smile. It was more of a grimace.

"So, who's this guy you're having a crush on?" he changed the subject.

"Kitty, no, I'm not telling you about my crush, I don't want to jeopardize our friendship."

"Come on, Bugaboo, I told you about the girl I like."

"Yeah, me."

"That's right."

"Chat, no. We're good friends, I don't want to hurt your feelings. That's unfair."

"Um..., no. The only unfair thing here is that I know nothing about my competitor,"he snarked back, earning a chuckle out of Ladybug.

"Chat, shhh-" she pressed her index finger to his lips.

"Bugaboo, I have confidence that one day you'll wake up and realize that it was me you were destined to be with all along, but until that sweet day comes, I'll be willing to help you out with your guy problems." A smile tugged at the corner of Chat's lips.

"Chat! I said "shhhhhhh-" she said warningly. "And besides, I told you that I like someone else. What makes you think I would drop him and go out with you instead?"

"Well, we have kissed. Two times. Remember?" Chat Noir said with a Cheshire grin.

She breathed in through her nose, rolling her eyes while doing so. "We were under the influence of an Akuma! Both times. It doesn't count!"

"Ladybug, all kidding and my feelings aside. The only thing I want is to see you happy. And if this boy makes you happy, then I'm happy for you too." he smiled genuinely. "Now, I really want to hear about this guy,"

"Are you sure?"

Chat Noir nodded.

"He's this charismatic gentleman. Very kind and sweet. He's a bit shy and reserved, but oh - so innocent.-" she paused, biting her lower lip. "He's a bit oblivious, and he doesn't always give the best advice. He trusts and forgives way too easily, but all of that is overshadowed by his gentleness. I've never met someone so eager to help others without hesitation or questions before." Her voice faltered again. "And he has a large fanbase."

"Fanbase? Is he famous too?" Chat tilted his head.

"Yeah, he's a model."

"Ooo, sounds like you've found yourself a snack." Chat winked.

"Well, a lot of his fans think that he's perfect. I would be lying if I said that parts of him are perfect..., like his hair; I don't think normal people are supposed to have hair that nice."

The black cat nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"But as a whole, he's perfectly imperfect."

"Perfectly imperfect." he sighed dreamingly. "I like that," the black cat smiled.

"He did not make a good first impression at all. However, he went out of his way to apologize for something that wasn't his fault. He even admitted to me his insecurities when it comes to making friends. And when he left school, he even offered me his umbrella."

"He sounds... like a cool guy." Chat remarked quietly.

"He is!" she agreed. "but I'm struggling with keeping my cool around Adr-" she froze. "around him." she finished quickly.

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you talking about the Adrien Agreste?"

"Ladybug inhaled sharply."No!" she shivered. "Well, maybe I'm talking about Adrien. Maybe not."

Chat Noir raised an golden eyebrow.

"I know him! I'm in his Fanclub."The blonde paused."Wow, small world, huh?"

"Wait, what?! You're in Adrien's Fanclub?!"Marinette's voice trembled. "H-he has his own fan club?"

"I get exclusive newsletters every month."

Her mind was blown, "Newsletters?!"

"Well, yeah. He's insanely popular." Chat smiled. "I know him quite well."

"Y-you know him?"

"Yeah, I've hung out with him a couple of times. I met him at his birthday party."He replied nonchalantly."Well, let's get back on track. How do you struggle with keeping your cool around him?"

"My brain stops functioning every time I see him. I get all tongue-tied and stuttery, sometimes I can't even talk to him using whole sentences. It's really bad. I'm just a mess. It's not that I'm intimidated. I think I just have trouble processing my feelings. I get too caught up in myself. He's so patient, but he probably thinks that I'm a nervous wreck."

"I honestly doubt that. He's not the type of guy who judges others easily." He touched her shoulder. "Trust me, he has told me about his this girl who stumbles over her words a lot, she's in his class. She's overthinking sometimes. He told me that he thought her behavior was weird in the beginning, but she only struggles whenever she's around him, and it only happens sometimes. He said that it didn't bother him. He also described her as a girl who stood up for others, completely selfless and incredibly fierce." he paused. "If I didn't know any better, then I would have thought that he had described you."

"Oh,"

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. All she could hear was her earrings beeping. Ladybug rose to her feet.

"Chat...," she paused. "I have to leave. I'm about to transform soon."

*beep*

Ladybug was just about to leave, but Chat Noir stopped her."Ladybug?" he looked at her with kitten eyes.

"Yeah?"

*beep*

"My lady?" he offered her a small smile. "We're still friends, right?"

Her expression softened. "Of course kitty, we're still friends."

He smiled back at her. "See you soon, Ladybug."

She nodded.

Ladybug then swung off the roof before Chat Noir could say another word.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: **At last!**

"Spots off."

She collapsed on her bed, Tikki by her side.

"Um...Marinette,"

"Hm?"

"Have you by any chance started to develop feelings for Ch-" Tikki said quietly as Marinette pulled on a pair of pajamas.

"Shh!" Marinette jerked the top down so she could stare at her small, pink friend. "Drop that thought right now, Tikki."

"Because that would be totally fine," Tikki said, very gently.

Marinette closed her bluebell eyes and shook her head. "No. Have you forgotten that Chat got akumatized because of me?" she paused. "And I hate myself for what happened. If I wasn't so stupid." she paused, again. "Chat and I can never be together in that way; I can't risk having him akumatized again." Her heart sank into her shoes. "I just… have no other choice than to let them go. Both of them."

"Mari...," Tikki sighed, the small creature looked like she wanted to say something, but the words never left her mouth.

"It's not like I have another choice," Marinette repeated, trying to convince herself.

It didn't matter that the black cat was the only person left she felt she could rely on now or the way that her heart had begun to flutter whenever he said those stupid cat puns – or maybe her heart had always done that, and she just hadn't noticed until now.

She wouldn't be able to finish the job without him, the only thing that to her was his safety. If she lost him, then Paris would be lost too.

-LB-X-CN-

Bzzzzt bzzzzt.

'_Ugh._'

Bzzzt Bzzzt.

'_What the hell?_'

It was the annoying buzzing of her phone that finally rose Marinette from her slumber. Being the first decent night's sleep she'd had in a week, waking up so abruptly only served to make her feel worse than she already did.

Bzzzzt bzzzt.

Mumbling a complaint into her pillow and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Marinette half-heartedly grabbed the phone from the floor. She checked the clock on her phone. Seven AM. Her fingers hovered over the screen for just a second, her breath hitching in the back of her throat at the sight of the photo she still used as her background image. The bluenette blinked away a few forming tears and forced herself to make a mental note to change the picture as soon as possible. She had to get over him.

The young girl's expression changed from sad to confused as she checked her notifications. Three new messages; she expected as much. What she didn't expect at all, however, was for one of them to be from Kagami Tsurugi.

"Who is it?" Tikki mumbled, yawning widely.

"It's Kagami. She wants to know if she can come over here," Marinette said, rubbing her eyes.

It was rare that Kagami was actually able to get an hour free from under her mother's stern eye, and it was sort of touching that she was choosing to spend that precious free time with Marinette. And although she wanted nothing more than to roll over and drift off to sleep again, she forced herself to sit up. She knew deep down that turning her down would be cruel.

"But Marinette, I thought you said that no one except you could enter your room." she rolled over to peer at the phone.

"I know, I know, but a change of rules. Non-Miraculous holders can't come in here."

"When is she coming over?" Tikki knew that Marinette wouldn't turn the fencer down.

"In four hours." Marinette squinted as she began typing out a response, then groaned and forced herself to get out of her bed. "I bet she wants to change the design of her suit. The only problem is that I haven't started translating those incantations yet, so we have to get up. Now."

Her head was spinning and the lights from the windows were blinding. At some point, she was really going to have to start catching up on sleep.

Tikki didn't reply, but closed her eyes and snuggled back down into the pillow – she could sleep for at least another hour. The bluenette shot her a dirty look as she made her way down the ladder.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and cringed. Her hair was tousled, her face was pale with dark circles underneath her eyes, her lips were pale and swollen.' _How I wish that I could be a kwami that could just sleep for most of the day._'

-CN-X-LB-

Eventually, Marinette got herself organized and made her way down to the bakery and her awaiting breakfast and coffee.

But before she got a foot into the door, she was shoved aside by a rushing customer, allowing all the noise in the bakery to explode into the air. To say the bakery was busy was an understatement. More people than Marinette could count were clustered inside the tiny interior. Things at the Dupain-Cheng bakery usually ran like clockwork, but sometimes things went wrong.

Her parents were running in and out from the front of the store to the back of the bakery, each taking turns writing down orders and coming back with takeout pastry boxes. The teenage girl tried to get her parents' attention, but she drowned among the many complaining and impatient customers. Marinette had to push her way through the crowd in order to get her mother's attention.

"What's going on, why are there so many people in here?" she asked her mother.

"We got a call early in the morning that one of our morning workers had fallen ill. We're one worker short." Sabine replied.

Over the multiple bobbing heads, she could see her father, Tom, frantically taking and giving orders.

"Yes, yes, your baguette is in the oven and will be ready in ten minutes," Tom informed a customer. Then he turned to the crowd, carrying two large carryout boxes. "Number 205 and 206 I have your orders ready!"

"Sir. Where are my eight cheeseballs? I ordered them fifteen minutes ago!"

"Where is my order of a dozen macarons!?" yelled a female voice.

"No, sweetheart. You can't have sweets for breakfast." A mother calmly informed her son, barely audible over all the chaos. The boy burst into tears, crying loudly and all but screaming as he stubbornly dropped to a fetal position on the floor. The woman's eyes widened and she couldn't help but glance around the small bakery they were in, offering the watching customers around them an apologetic grimace. She massaged her temples as more and more customers in the bakery stared at them.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I need that order of a breakfast croissant and a take-away coffee. My bus is leaving in 7 minutes." replied a snobby female voice.

"Excuse me, I asked for a Danish and a coffee to go and it's been fifteen minutes!" screamed an indignant male voice.

Sabine reached for her daughter's hand and pulled her behind the register. "Please, honey, can you give us a helping hand? Here is order #202 a dozen of strawberry and cream danish. I'm sure Amélie has already finished them, so just go to the back and start packing them."

The bluenette resisted the urge to yawn. She was dead tired. She slipped on an apron as her mother gave change to a blonde woman, handing over her order. Saturdays were usually the busiest for her parents' bakery, but this was way over the usual weekend rush. The bluebell eyed girl ignored her sleep deprivation and started packing away the rush of orders as fast as she could.

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette returned to her room once the morning rush was over. She was hoping that the caffeine from the coffee would help to perk her up fast.

She decided to work on translating the Grimoire's photos and some spells. Marinette removed the book from its spot on the bookshelf and grabbed the scroll she received from the Order of the Guardians. She had only slight progress with the odd language, but she was determined, and she wasn't about to give up.

She learned more while translating those photos than she had in any fleeting rendezvous with Fu. And there were more permanent power-ups available to her with a few incantations. Similar spells were available for the Cat, but she wasn't sure if her partner was ready for them yet.

Marinette started doodling in her sketchbook, trying to figure out something that would work well.

The first thing she did was scratch out some of the red. There was just too much. From the sides of her stomach and to her lower thighs, Marinette scribbled in black on her paper. Her lower arms were also redone to solid black. And the suit looked much easier on the eyes. She added a pair of transparent wings, and a second yo-yo hanging from her waist.

She also made changes to her hair. She dropped her iconic twin pigtails and wore her hair in a bun with seven ladybug swirls in it. It looked as if the ladybugs were floating in her hair. Then, Marinette considered her poor calloused feet.

Shoes. no, no, no! Boots!

She was careful to make sure they wouldn't be too clunky or heavy, but still protected her feet. They came up to her knees and were garnet in color. Marinette sat back and admired the sketch, giggling to herself in joy.

"Tikki, wake up!" she called, but her pink friend didn't respond. "Tikki, I think I'm done!" she announced, popping up from her chair.

Tikki flew over to examine the new look, 'awwwwwwwing' in admiration. "That's one of the better ones," she commented, zipping up to the girl's face. "Want to see if you can make the change?"

Marinette invoked one of the incantations over the earrings before transforming.

She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded at the changes that her suit had taken on to match her drawing. There was also a second yo-yo hanging from her waist, just as the incantation she'd tried out promised. She smiled and headed for a secluded area to practice.

-CN-X-LB-

Kagami knocked on the door and was greeted by Sabine.

"Good morning, Kagami, are you looking for Marinette?" she smiled kindly.

The fencer nodded. "Is she home?"

"Yes. She just returned back a minute ago. You can just head up there."

Sabine stepped aside and let Kagami into the bakery.

-LB-X-CN-

The small smile that crossed Kagami's face as she popped her head through the trapdoor was enough to make Marinette smile as well.

"Good morning," Kagami said formally.

"Good morning," Marinette smiled, "Have you decided on a new design for your suit?"

"Yes." Kagami offered Marinette the drawing.

Kagami had picked out one of Marinette's own favorite of the designs she'd drawn up. A blood-red kimono-inspired blouse with gold trim and black hakama pants with a red belt and gold lining. Simple black foot wrappings would protect Kagami's feet and her normally blue-black hair had taken on a more red hue with her dragon horns that faded to gold.

"That look is stunning! If you could hand me your choker, then I'll invoke the incantation on it." Kagami handed over her choker. "So how did you get time off today?" Marinette asked, trying to make small talk, as she was flipping through the pages of her notebook, looking for the right incantation.

"My mother went abroad for a meeting. She's unaware that my English teacher has fallen ill with the flu, and that today's lesson was canceled. " Kagami answered. "I don't have much time though. I have to be at my fencing lesson no later than twelve pm." The fencer paused. "Or else I'll get in trouble."

"That was a sheer fluke," Marinette muttered before she invoked the incantation on the choker. "All right, want to check if you can make the change?"

Longg appeared in a ball of light. "Good morning, my lady."

Kagami bowed. "Yes, let's do this." she paused. "Longg, bring the storm."

Once the last flash of magic covered her, Kagami turned to face the mirror, turning to the right and then turning to the left. "This looks so good!" the girl exclaimed. "Now Parisians will finally get to see your great design. They might never know the true identity of the designer, but they will still get to see your work!" she paused. "You must be so proud!" Kagami said before she detransformed.

Marinette nodded, her thoughts turned to Kagami's busy schedule, unable to relate with the fencer. Following a strict schedule from morning to night seemed quite surreal. Adrien and Kagami had that thing in common, really. Every second of their time was scheduled and planned by their parents. Marinette led a busy life as well, but it was filled with activities she appreciated doing. Marinette had a hard time imagining what it would be like to have her parents dictating what she was to do with every waking moment.

It also made her wonder how Adrien and Kagami could date. Perhaps their parents scheduled their dates too. Crossed off on the calendar. Marinette shivered at the thought.

Marinette continued to drift, listening to her voice but not paying attention to her words. The bluebell eyed girl then realized that Kagami was waiting for her to say something. "So… how has Adrien been doing recently?"

A mild blush streaked across her face, "Well about that...," she paused. "Adrien and I are friends, we are not dating, if that's what you thought."

Marinette choked on her own saliva. "Wait. You're friends? But you said –"

"I asked him out once and Adrien said that he needed more time. I gave him some time and thought that he would make up his mind," The fencer paused. "But we never made any progress. It wasn't going anywhere. And I just don't want to spend my time waiting around for someone to change their mind. Adrien is a kind and sweet gentleman, but all I wanted was a clear answer. If you like someone, then you know." She smiled fondly, then sighed. "Besides, I think… I think Adrien fancies someone else."

"Surely not Chloé or Lila," Marinette said, frowning as if being unable to solve a puzzle. '_Wait... wait... wait.. what am I doing? Who he is dating is none of my business._' But really, she thought that he deserved much better than those two.

"I don't think he fancies either of them, but you can never know for sure, he doesn't speak much about her," Kagami said. The fencer looked at Marinette for a moment with a peculiar expression. Kagami was holding something back, Marinette couldn't read her, and it worried her.

"What?" Marinette asked finally.

"Nothing. Just forgot what I just said." She said, her eyes downcast.

"Oh," Marinette said. She had a feeling that there was more to this than the fencer would say, but she didn't know if she should pry; in the end, she knew her curiosity would win out and she would ask. Then again, it was possible that Kagami was just feeling disappointed about Adrien's behavior. If the latter case was true, then Marinette would do her best to be there for her. The bluenette felt she wasn't the right person for Kagami to confide in though, considering that the two of them had both been interested in the same boy.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, and Kagami starring out of the window, Marinette finally decided to change the subject.

"So how are your fencing lessons going?"

If there was one thing that Kagami enjoyed talking about, it was fencing. It was nice seeing her talking about her passion. Her face would light up as she told Marinette about the tactics and every new move she had learned recently. The bluebell eyed girl was perfectly content to sit there and listen, knowing that Kagami didn't often get the chance to just chat like this.

"Well, perhaps I could show you some things about fencing someday."

"You would teach me?"

Kagami nodded.

Her eyes widened as they fell on her watch. "I'm sorry but I have to go now, "Kagami said, standing. "By the way, a little bird told me that Adrien is over in the park doing a photo shoot. I think he would appreciate the presence of a friend right now."

"R-right now?" Marinette said, more surprised by the fact that she hadn't noticed that Kagami and Adrien were so close friends.

"You should go see him, "Kagami opened the trapdoor. "See you later, Marinette."

"See you later," Marinette said

She sat there for a minute longer on the floor, pondering over whether it was all right to go see Adrien. On the one hand, the smart thing to do would be to in her room. Sorting out the different potion ingredients. Translating the Grimoire.

But on the other hand, Marinette had to admit that Kagami had a point. Adrien sometimes had a hard time at his shoots, and he'd looked pretty tired last week too. And they were all friends, so they should support each other. And the rain was also pouring down in sheets, so maybe she should bring him some fresh baked cookies from the oven? It wasn't very often he got the chance to have a treat like that, so it would be a nice gesture.

Smiling to herself, she scooped Tikki into her purse and scurried down the stairs.

-CN-X-LB-

"Mom, Dad, I'm going out," Marinette called.

She heard a stack of plates crash on the ground. The bluenette jumped at the sound and went into the bakery to investigate. She saw her mother on the floor, picking up the broken pieces of the plates, with her father helping her out.

"Hey, what happened?"

Sabine chuckled and looked up with Tom.

"Oh, don't worry dear." She assured her. "I just thought I misheard you and say you're going out,"

"I am."

Sabine dropped the broken pieces on the floor again.

Marinette didn't blame her. She couldn't believe her own ears either. She had spent every day locked inside her room for the past month getting accustomed to her Guardian responsibilities and working on new design projects. Then all of a sudden she came out of her lair and announced she was going out.

She grabbed some chocolate chip cookies and put them in a bag on her way out.

"W-well I hope you have fun," Tom said.

"Thanks."

"And be sure to call us if you're going to be late," Sabine warned her.

"Sure. Bye Maman. Bye Papa!"

She walked out of the bakery, but not before she heard this-

"Tom, I just hope she won't get hurt again."

-LB-X-CN-

It was a piercing cold, rainy afternoon in Paris. It had been raining throughout the day, and according to the weather forecast, it wouldn't stop raining in the nearest future. It only now started to drizzle, and the looming dark clouds overhead weren't a good sign of the weather getting any nicer. In fact, there was a pretty good chance that it would only rain harder soon.

The bluenette was only half-way there when she saw something dreadful off in the distance. The whole street was surrounded by huge trucks hauling concrete, and construction workers. A sign had recently been put up depicting a stick-figure shoveling something against an orange background.

"Shoot," she sighed, exhaling all her hopes of getting to the park dry. Marinette desperately glanced around the construction site in search of some way through, rather than around. Nothing. The entire street was completely closed off.

Just as she was coming to the conclusion that she'd have to take the longest way around in order to reach her destination, the rain started coming down harder. And to make things worse, she had left the bakery in such a hurry that she had forgotten to bring her umbrella. She needed to get out of the rain, and fast. She didn't even have the time to complain or let out an exasperated sigh.

Marinette brought up a mental map of Paris and tried to imagine which way she would need to go in order to get there as soon as possible. There was one way she could think of, but it was in the complete opposite direction and hardly used by anyone. With the rain coming down in sheets she needed to get to the park and get dried off, there wasn't much time to look for other options.

She put her arms over her head as she ran in an attempt to shield herself from the rain, but it really didn't help much.

After rounding a corner, she saw something that looked like a bus stop in the distance. She could only imagine how much drier she'd be if she waited inside of it at least until the rain had calmed off a bit.

Marinette was so focused on the bus stop itself that she forgot to focus on the uneven ground underneath her feet. She lost her footing and was unable to outstretch her arms fast enough to catch her fall before she landed face down in the biggest puddle on the street. The water soaked through her clothes in an instant. The rain chilled her to her bone, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to rise from the ground.

Once she finally stood upright, she continued walking to the shelter of the bus stop.

Once she had a roof over her head, she started wringing the water out of the corners of her jacket. There might have been enough water soaked into her clothes to fill a small pool, but since the droplets were now soaking into the ground, no one would ever know for certain. After spending a few minutes getting all the water she could out of her clothes, she looked up at the sky and saw that it was still raining, perhaps a bit harder than before.

She sat down on the rainsoaked ground, with her knees up to her chest and her head leaned against the bus shelter wall, feeling the glass press uncomfortable at it.

Marinette really didn't care anymore. She didn't care about how long she had been sitting in the bus shelter. She didn't care that her mascara was running down her cheeks leaving black trails behind, or that her rainsoaked hair was falling out of her pigtails. She didn't care anymore.

Soaked down to the bone, freezing and feeling very alone, she almost felt like crying.

But when she felt a couple of tears sliding down her cheek, she quickly wiped them away with her damp sleeve.

'Get a grip on yourself, Marinette. The park is only a few blocks away, you won't get to see Adrien if you're sitting here, crying.'

Marinette had been walking aimlessly, lost in thought, for what felt like hours when she found herself a couple of blocks away from the park Kagami had mentioned, where Adrien was standing, in the middle of the rain; no surprise there. What surprised her though was that Gabriel Agreste was willing to allow his designs to get wet.

"That's it, Adrien! You are the spaghetti! Be the dough!" Vincent shouted. "You are the very thing upon which the bowl of pasta is built!"Vincent finally gave a loud exclamation before he kissed his fingers. The photographer and everyone clustered around him was safely underneath a canopy, but apparently they had decided not to grant poor Adrien that luxury.

Marinette stood in the pouring rain, her jaw hitting the ground as she saw Adrien posing for his photos. The rain felt icy on her skin, but she didn't care about the cold anymore, her eyes were too mesmerized by the sight of the blonde boy. Even from where she was standing, Marinette could tell that his blonde hair and clothing were soaked. She began to wonder if he was feeling as uncomfortable as she was feeling, but you would never have known Adrien's discomfort from how professional he was acting.

-LB-X-CN-

He was holding a red heart-shaped balloon in his right hand. Vincent gave Adrien a sign and he dropped the balloon to the sky.

"Perfect! Okay, Adrien, we're going to look over the photos. You have a short break, don't leave though!" Vincent lowered his camera and handed it off at an assistant.

Adrien went back into the temporary tent and changed back into his regular clothing.

Marinette skirted the crowd and managed to catch the Gorilla's eye; he was standing guard alongside the barriers. Adrien's bodyguard gave her a long, measuring look before nodding and stepping back for her to move into the tent.

"Thanks," she slipped under the barrier, clutching Adrien's paper bag in her hand - the cookies were miraculously still lukewarm. "Adrien?" Marinette called, her voice barely rising above a whisper and her teeth chattered so hard she bit into her tongue.

"Marinette? Is that you?" Adrien said, astonished. "I'm back here."He shrugged off his jacket and slung it over the back of a chair.

She followed his voice and emerged into a small space that was crammed full of clothing. Adrien was sitting on a chair with a towel over his head, rubbing his hair. He let the towel fall as he heard her step into the area, and smiled at her.

"Marinette, are you all right? What are you doing here?" Just as quickly as it had come, however, the boy's smile vanished, noticing that Marinette was drenched down to the bone. When Adrien handed her his own towel, she smiled as she hesitantly reached for it, then began to scrub at her own hair. "Not that I mind when you visit me on shoots, but it's a miserable day to be out. And you are soaked down to the bone."

She let the towel fall. "H-hi,-yeah, I'm fine," Marinette said, she vented her breath in a deep sigh, trying to remain calm. '_I'm letting you go. There's no other choice. Just because you aren't dating Kagami anymore doesn't mean anything. You have your eyes set on someone else. And I need to respect that._' "I was teaching Kagami to bake cookies. We thought you could use some," Marinette lied, indicating the wet bag she held. "It's chocolate chip cookies."

"Thanks! I'm technically not allowed to have sweets in here, but thank you." He stretched out a hand. She handed it to him, and their fingers brushed. The bluenette swallowed hard. The tent suddenly felt awfully small, she felt claustrophobia creeping up on her, her lungs burned for air. Adrien took the bag and hid it.

"Met!"

"Bet!"

"I mean wet!" she blurted out.

"Huh?" Adrien asked with his eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

"Wet. You're soaked wet. Why?"

"My father decided to base his latest project on negative feelings, and he thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the rain; it would give today's session the perfect edge."The blonde paused for a moment. "I was honestly hoping the photo shoot would be postponed. I could've used a chance to sleep in. The only positive thing today is that we don't need to use a hose to fake it. I prefer the real thing."

"Negative feelings?" She blinked at him, unimpressed. "Akumas feed off negative feelings. So, isn't this theme a bit...cheap?"

"My thoughts exactly, my outfit is based on sadness. " Adrien's facial muscles contracted into a scowl. "It feels like he's trying to capitalize on people's trauma. I don't have much of a choice though, so I can't protest no matter how much I detest this. I guess I'm just glad he didn't want me to go through with the nude shoot."

Marinette nearly choked on her own saliva. "N-nude shoot?!" she wheezed when her breath finally returned.

"Yeah, Vincent thought it was a good idea, he claimed it would make me appear more mature and grown-up," Adrien replied casually. "Marinette… are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm f-fine," As much as she tried to distract herself, Marinette couldn't help but think of how Adrien would look with no clothes on. '_Think of something else. Fast_.'

"Relax. He was just joking around, I'm not old enough for nude shots," Adrien shot her an odd look but shrugged. "yet." He felt Marinette's stare on him and looked up at her incredulous expression. "What?".

"You just uttered number two on my list of worst possible professions ever conceived by man. I could never pull myself through the things that you do," She wrenched her gaze back up to Adrien's face and tried to remember how to speak properly.

"You get used to it. Because you have to," He did not meet her eyes, her heart dropped as the blonde boy closed his eyes and lowered his head. Adrien was not only born into a privileged family, but he was also born into a life full of responsibilities. He wasn't a model by choice, it was a role he was born into. He had never been given a choice about getting used to all of this. His father had chosen it for him. It would be like if her own parents decided she was going to be a baker and refused to let her be a designer.

"If you say so," She glanced around and found herself studying a nearby rack of clothing. Every item looked cheap, now that she knew that the inspiration behind the latest line was Hawkmoth's akumas.

" Are you free this afternoon?" he broke the silence.

" I might work on some design projects and do some homework. Nothing too important."

" I'll be done here soon. And I haven't eaten anything yet. Wanna grab a bite with me? My treat." His hands dug into the pockets of his trousers. The hint of a self-satisfied smirk playing across full, pink lips.

Marinette's head snapped toward him so fast she thought she heard her neck crack. Marinette could tell that he was nervous. His head tilted just a little too high trying not to alert Marinette of the sweat that dotted his brow. And his hands in his pockets kept shifting; rubbing fingers together; sweaty palms. His emerald eyes flickered between Marinette and the exit anxiously, as if wondering if he should leave. But that smirk. Nervous or not, that smirk was all Adrien. The blonde model had asked her out and was nervous about it. Holy shit.

Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out. She jumped when Tikki jabbed her in the thigh. "S-sure! W-what do you have in mind?"

"Great," He choked out, unaware that he'd been holding his breath. "let's meet in front of Le Cinq in half an hour?" Adrien smiled and stood up. He straightened his hair, satisfied. "but I think you should go home first. You better change and dry yourself."

"All right," Marinette was stunned.

"Hold on, just a minute," He squeezed past her and left, which was good because Marinette's knees were feeling a bit weak. The bluebell eyed girl toddled over and sank down into the chair he had recently vacated. He returned quickly with a black umbrella in his hands. "Here take this."

"Thanks. See you soon."

"See you soon, Marinette."

She stepped back, taking the umbrella with her.

-LB-X-CN-

"I'm so happy for you, Mari! " Tikki squealed, poking her head out of the purse. "He finally did it!"

"I-"

"I-"

"I?" Tikki prompted, "Marinette, please breathe...," Tikki poked her head further out of the girls' tiny purse, a look of concern on her face.

"I can't do this! This is absolutely awful!" Marinette panicked.

Tikki blinked. Then blinked again. "Pardon me?"

"Tikki! This doesn't make any sense! Kagami said Adrien has his eyes set on another girl. I wonder who she is? What if I'm his second choice?!" Marinette wheezed.

"Marinette, calm down, he asked you out which means that he likes you," Tikki said softly.

She'd pulled a shaky laugh from Marinette, "W-wait. What? No. No. No! That's totally not the case. Adrien doesn't like me like that. He likes me as a good friend remember? Besides, he can't be liking me. Because –"

"Because you have started to like Chat Noir," Tikki said, flying up in front of Marinette's face.

"Correct, wh-what?! No!" Her bluebell eyes flared and she gave a single violent shake of her head.

"Marinette, I just don't get your reaction, I thought this would make you happy. What's going on?"

"Adrien figured out my true identity and told someone my secret! Remember!?" Marinette said, fighting to keep her voice low. Just thinking about it made her heart hurt. He had broken her trust and shattered the perfect illusion of him that she had built up in her head.

"But Marinette," Tikki said, keeping her voice low as well. " that took place in the alternate timeline where Chat Blanc happened - it didn't technically happen. It's not fair to blame Adrien for something that he never did, right?"

"...you have a point there."

"Marinette, I've already told you that there's no need to hide your true identity anymore, Master Fu wanted you to follow those strict rules, but you are free to do as you please now. Just try not to rush things. Tell Adrien about it when you are ready to tell him." Tikki gave her an exasperated look. When Marinette didn't answer her, she spoke again."Just be extra careful in the beginning making sure that Adrien doesn't figure out your identity again, you want him to like you for you, not for being Ladybug. I think that would be a lot easier if you're dating him. You could give him gifts personally, without having to worry about sneaking into his bedroom to leave them!"

"But… Tikki, I don't want to have to hide who I am forever. For how long am I supposed to keep this secret? Until I'm married!? I want to at least be honest with my husband."

"No one is getting married. He asked you out on one date, Marinette. You can't marry someone after one date! I also think that Hawk Moth is beginning to step up his game, and you and Chat Noir could have to face him at any moment now. It could happen long before you ever get into a serious relationship."

"I'm still not sure whether or not I should go."

"Do you have a cat-shaped reason not to go?"

"Really, Tikki? Really?!" She still wasn't convinced. She just didn't want to get caught up in a love triangle. Adrien had his eyes set on someone, and it bothered her that she did not know, nor had a clue about who that someone could be.

Then again, she didn't even know for sure that this was a date. He had never used those words himself. The model might have said that the lunch was on him, but that was just the way he was: he was a gentleman. And he had plenty of money, whereas he knew his friends didn't. And they were good friends. Maybe this was just something between friends. Maybe he just wanted to be nice. The bluenette nodded to herself. Of course, that was the only thing that made sense. And Adrien had just been nervous because he and Marinette didn't usually hang out alone – and when they did, Marinette usually made a complete fool of herself.

"I think you should make sure that Adrien gets the best damn lunch of his life." Tikki smiled.

"All right, All right. I'll go,"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 **The Lunch Date**

It took Adrien twenty minutes to finish with the photoshoot; once the individual photos were done, Adrien disappeared into the tent and Plagg flew out of his jacket. The blonde paced around restlessly around in the tent while Plagg was munching on a piece of Camembert.

"Oh My God! Plagg. Marinette said yes." the blonde beamed. "What should I do now?"

"Tell her this: If you were a piece of Camembert, then you would be a good piece." the black creature stuffed another piece of Camembert into his face.

"Plagg, seriously. That pick-up line was way too cheesy," the blonde began."I don't know how I should behave on our first date."

"Maybe you could ask Ladybug for a piece of advice?"

"No. I don't have time for that now. I'm going to meet with Marinette in ten minutes."

"Seriously kid, haven't you and your father had the talk yet?"

The model's face flushed. "What talk?"

"The one... the one about."Plagg choked on a piece of cheese. "Well, I guess not since your father hasn't been much present in your life."

Adrien blushed slightly, and so did Plagg.

"Plagg. We don't have to do this." Adrien protested. "This is a lunch date. Not a Netflix and chill date."

"Oh Good. You know how much I hate talking about romance and BLERRGH." Plagg coughed. "Just give her a piece of Camembert, she'll be yours forever."

There was a long pause.

The light pink blush turned into a full red face of embarrassment. "I just don't know what to do."

"Can I have more cheese? This conversation is draining me." Adrien offered him another piece of cheese."Don't look at me. I don't know much about this either. Can't you just ask your father later?"

He glanced at his cell phone sitting forlornly on the edge of the table. He picked it up and checked the time. 12:56 p.m."Oh no. We're going to be really, really late." Adrien scooped the kwami into his palm, causing Plagg to loose his beloved cheese on the floor.

"Hey, give me my cheese back!" the small creature wiggled in his palm. "I can't sit and watch the Agreste reputation getting destroyed because you don't know what to do. But if we're going to talk about this, then I need more cheese."

"Time's up. We have to go."

"Oh no, not now-my cheese-."

"Plagg claws out!"Adrien said, and Plagg was sucked into his ring in an instant.

Chat Noir then secretly left the tent and jumped from roof to roof until he reached an alley a few blocks away from the Four Seasons Hotel George V. He then detransformed and sprinted towards the building.

-LB-X-CN-

She looked at her watch for about the seventh time in the past thirty minutes and sighed. The rain was coming down in sheets. The bluenette tapped her foot impatiently.

Where the hell was Adrien?

"I think he has gotten cold feet, Tikki."

Her tiny friend poked her head out of her purse. "Give him another ten minutes. I'm sure he's on his way,"

She looked at her watch again and decided to give up. She had been waiting for forty minutes.

Marinette was turning on her heal, ready to go back home when she felt something crash into her. Tikki fell into the purse again.

"Mariette, I'm so sorry I'm late, " Adrien was out of breath and his face was really red.

"It's all right, I guess," Marinette smirked at him. "You look slightly...windswept."

Adrien snorted. "You look immaculate yourself," he said, dramatically. "So, let's head inside, shall we?"

-LB-X-CN-

When they entered the restaurant, the host greeted them politely and escorted them to a secluded table. Adrien pulled out her chair, and Marinette thanked him, pleasantly surprised by his chivalry. '_A girl could get used to this_…' This was her first time at such an upscale restaurant. She fidgeted a little in her seat and looked up when she felt his eyes on her.

"Have you ever been here?"

"No, but I've heard good things." The restaurant was spacious and bright, decorated in shades of gold and grey, it made her feel as if she was dining in a private chateau. "It's beautiful," she conceded. "Probably a romantic setting for a date in the evenings." As soon as the words had left her mouth, Marinette felt the urge to smack herself in the forehead. Adrien gave her an irritatingly confident smile.

The waiter came around with the menu.

"I'm sure it would be, but I don't date." _Well, not until today._ he added silently. Marinette looked confused.

Was this his first date too? Ever? What kind of 'insanely-famous-model' didn't date? She didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed that this lunch was definitely not a date.

"S-so you come here alone then?"

"No, I'm usually with my father or my aunt whenever she comes visiting with Felix. Vincent, on occasion, for business purposes." Her brow furrowed, and he elaborated. "We have discussed modeling work here."

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.

They'd been talking and talking and forgotten to look at the menu, so she glanced at it, intent on picking the first thing she saw that was reasonably priced. Unfortunately, everything was very expensive, Marinette realized as she checked out the prices.

She knew that Adrien would be able to pay for whatever she ordered, so there was no point in ordering the least expensive item on the menu, just to be helpful. So she let Adrien order first, though, and when she checked out what he'd ordered, she got something roughly the same price. Adrien, she noticed, ordered the most expensive item on the menu, so he obviously didn't care.

The waiter returned first with their water, then ten minutes later with the regional cheese plate Adrien had ordered. He thanked him and smiled.

"Since when did you become a cheese enthusiast?"

"Since today." He scooped all of the Camembert pieces into his pockets when no one was watching.

The waiter returned twenty minutes later with their main dishes. They both thanked him.

"This looks so good," Adrien said, glancing down at his plate of spaghetti. "I'm starving. I haven't eaten in hours."

"You didn't eat breakfast?" Marinette asked.

"No. They don't like it when we eat beforehand. It can make your stomach bulge," Adrien explained. He was peering out the window, so he missed seeing Marinette's furious expression. "Thanks for the surprise visit earlier, Marinette. I do get lonely during my shoots sometimes."

"No need to thank me. I'm interested in getting to see how photoshoots work first-hand. You never know when I might need the knowledge to do my own photoshoot someday!"

Adrien finally smiled. "Well, I guess when you put it that way. You're welcome to come to watch my photoshoots anytime you like."

"Really?" Marinette said excitedly. "Thanks!"

Adrien nodded. "So are you working on any designs these days?"Adrien said, tasting his spaghetti.

"I've been working on a design for a new dress, but I haven't decided what kind of sleeves I should add to it yet," She quickly snatched her sketchbook from her bag.

"Could I have a look at it?"

His eyes narrowed. Both were quiet for a few minutes, deep in their own thoughts.

"How about... petal sleeves?"

"Petal sleeves?"

He nodded. "But don't listen to me, I don't know anything about making clothes. I just model them and know a bit about marketing," He chuckled.

"Oh," she said weakly. "But your father is a well-known designer. Hasn't he taught you?"

"No. He saw early on that I had no talent nor interest and gave up trying to teach me, but it's all right. I really do have no talent."

She looked at her sketch for a minute. "But you have a great eye for details," she said, and Adrien let out a startled laugh. Her remark brightened his eyes, making her heart give an extra thump, which she studiously ignored.

"Haha, Thanks."

"I just don't understand. My father taught me how to bake. And he never gave up on teaching me, no matter how many mistakes I made." Marinette nibbled at her salad and glanced again outside, hoping that the rain might have miraculously stopped. No such luck.

"I think... our fathers have very different characters," he scowled.

"I could show you."

"I'd love to learn more," he flipped through the pages of her sketchbook. He had never seen her sketchbook before, merely looked inside when she had been sketching during the classes. Today he had seen a new side of her. Marinette had become more open and frank with him. And he hoped this trend would continue. He had overheard Marinette and Alya discussing fashion, and he had always hoped that she would talk to him about fashion too. That she would one day show him her sketches since he was deep into the business and could help her out. The young model was addicted. She had so much potential.

And now, here they were. In a glamorous restaurant discussing her sketches. Her focus had shifted towards him and his opinions. They kept discussing her work long after their food had arrived. He did his best to give her constructive critic; focusing on the good things, and coming with suggestions and expressing his thoughts on how she could improve the clothing.

Sometimes she would point out which parts of the pieces she was struggling to complete, and his feedback would make her pull her brows together and make her look at her work in a new light.

They talked and talked. Sometimes they drifted off-topic. They would share stories and personal experiences. Fun stories. Embarrassing moments. They would laugh together.

They devoted the next couple of minutes to eating before Adrien tentatively brought up his father's newest design collection. And Marinette was at the end glad to have the chance to talk about fashion with someone other than Alya. (Marinette had a feeling that Alya never really paid attention to their fashion-related conversations.) Even though she could care less about the Akuma inspired fashion line since it just reminded her of the upcoming fight against Hawkmoth. She doubted that Gabriel Agreste's newest project would sell well within France. They were deep into a conversation about different types of negative emotions, and so missed the customer who stormed out of the restaurant crying.


	12. Chapter 12 compulserator part 1

Chapter 12 **Compulserator part 1**

In a dark room, the sound of flapping wings could be heard. A window opened just enough to let light in revealing hundreds of white butterflies. Standing in the midst of the room, Hawk Moth had a wide grin on his face. He had been alerted by a particularly melodious and unique song of emotion. In the city, a woman was filled by a deep fear, blended with anger, disappointment, and hatred. The vortex of emotions was growing by the second, and Hawk Moth wickedly smiled as he cupped one of the butterflies. As quickly as these feelings rose, they could also subside, and Hawk Moth knew he could not let this opportunity pass.

"The savory emotion of a woman who is grossed out by others who do not wash their hands after using the toilet," he commented. Black energy poured into the butterfly in his palm, and he opened it up, revealing a black butterfly, which did not wait for his subsequent command to ascend.

"Go forth, my little akuma, and evilize her."

The butterfly soared through the window and Hawk Moth's hopes rose in tandem. The emotion was only growing stronger. Hawk Moth knew that he would create a strong akuma, and this time he would get his hands on the Ladybug and the black cat Miraculous.

-CN-X-LB-

"You disgust me!" The woman yelled after a young girl who was now storming out of the restaurant. Then she returned to the sink and washed her own hands with a strong anti-bacterial soap.

It was simple. Whenever she had touched something in public, or whenever she felt filthy, she washed her hands. She was very anal about her hygiene, and this was not the first time she had scolded a stranger in public for not washing their hands after leaving the toilet. It was so simple. But this time, she felt dirty, and no matter how many times she washed her hands, she still did not feel clean.

She washed her hands so many times they turned pruney and the flower-scented soap was embedded into her fingernails. She kept washing her hands, but no matter how many times she cleaned them, she still saw a filthy pair of hands. Filthy hands that committed the filthiest acts.

The woman bent the water in so many different ways, used the last bit of soap from the large bottle in her pocket, slopped water on her face, even ran it through her hair (her seemingly greasy, oily, dirty hair).

After washing for what seemed to be an eternity, she studied her hands. And she still saw filth. It seemed like the more she washed, the filthier she got.

She was so focused on germs and filth that she missed seeing the black butterfly that was flying through the open window. It closed in on her with preternatural alacrity. By the time the woman heard its wings flap, it was inches away.

Out of pure reflex, she grabbed the soap dispenser and tried to hit the butterfly. In response, the butterfly squeezed into it, causing the soap dispenser to turn black.

"Compulserator, I am Hawk Moth. What kind of a sick person doesn't wash his hands after using the toilet? They call you obsessed, but now I'm giving you the power to make everyone see germs the way you do. All I want in return are Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses!"

The accuracy of the address hit her. They had called her obsessed.

Hawk Moth paused. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Hawk Moth."

She stumbled out of the bathroom with a loud thud as her body was enveloped in a dark mass in seconds only for the plasma-like cocoon to retreat just as quickly. Her eyes had turned purple, and she was wearing a tight, black body-suit.

-LB-X-CN-

"Did you just come out of the loo and forget to wash your hands? Not important you say? Fine. I'm Compulserator, and I'll make you remember to wash your hands. Wash your stinking hands right now!" The akuma's voice rang through the otherwise silent restaurant. The woman carried a soap dispenser. She pointed it at a group of customers. "I'll make you see germs the way I do!" the woman screamed. The soap flung out of the dispenser and hit the group of customers. Marinette's mouth dropped open as the customer's eyes turned purple.

"I can't take this. Yuck!" One of the customers yelled. Then everyone ran off in different directions looking for the nearest source of water, washing their hands.

Together they watched the terrible scene unfold. Marinette wanted to close her eyes, but the horror of the scene paralyzed her and so she kept watching.

"You should go hide!" They said in unison. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, baffled.

Then Compulserator upturned a few tables and the screaming started; but in the midst of the chaos, Marinette lost track of Adrien. That worried her, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. As she made her way towards the back of the restaurant, she hoped that Adrien had been successful in his escape and had managed to flee the restaurant. And if he hadn't, then Ladybug would come to save him. The bluenette glanced around to make sure she was completely alone, then ducked into the kitchen.

"I guess Hawk Moth wants to prove that he's back in the game,"

"And just when Adrien and I were having a good time," Marinette said sourly.

"Adrien might still be around if you defeat it quickly," Tikki winked.

"That seems valid. Tikki, transforme-moi!"

-CN-X-LB-

As the flash of red light faded away, Ladybug turned to the window. She pushed the window open, leaped onto the roof and then she used her yo-yo and lowered herself onto the sidewalk.

Her eyes swept her surroundings, searching for signs of Compulserator. A chill ran down her spine while a breeze swept her hair away from her neck. And then she spotted her. Compulserator had made her way out of the restaurant. Within moments, the streets filled with germ-obsessed-zombie-like-people. They came, tumbling and shouting, from every corner. Ladybug sighed, the path towards the akuma was blocked off by people. Chat landed beside her a moment later.

"Chat, thank goodness. I just watched the news, and I came here as quickly as I could," Ladybug said.

"I just happened to be in the area when I heard the shouting. By the way, Soaper Duper to see you too, My Lady." Chat replied.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Seriously, soap puns? Do you feel the urge to crack jokes 24 hours a day?"

"I live to entertain and bring about joy in everyone...," Chat said with a shrug.

"Fair enough" she conceded after a moment's thought.

His eyes looked directly at her, and she felt something jump inside. "You look...different. How did you do that?"

"Well, I found an incantation in the Grimoire which allows us to change our attire, and so I decided to make some changes."

"Are you telling me that I don't need to wear a full-body leather suit?" he paused, looking down at himself. "And I don't have to have a bell?"

"That's right." Ladybug giggled before she reached out and toyed with his golden bell. "Let's go, kitty."

They made their way forward, fighting off the zombie-like-humans and following the trail of soap foam until they came across Compulserator. Ladybug barely avoided getting hit by a blast of soap; the black cat pushed her out of the way just in time. As Compulserator cackled gleefully somewhere behind them, Ladybug stared at the fire hydrant that had started foaming in her stead and realized that getting help from their teammates would be _very_ handy right now.

"I'll take your miraculous, Ladybug!" the akuma cried. "Then I'll make you wash your hands!"

"No you won't!" Chat said, springing to his feet and jumping at her. He had his baton in hand – or at least, he did until one of Compulserator's lucky shots turned his baton into soap foam. Chat yelped as it ran through his fingers.

"Ladybug!" He yelled.

"Chat, I'll distract her while you -"

She snapped her head around to look at Compulserator who was barely an arms-length away from touching her shoulder. While trying to move out of the way, the Marinette came out in her and she tripped, falling onto her knees. She stayed there a moment, breathing heavily, before realizing that she couldn't do this. She needed help. _They_ needed help. They needed Max and Rose, and someone who could use the Snake Miraculous. As much as she wanted to believe that she and Chat could do this alone, that belief wasn't enough anymore. She thought of sending Chat to find someone who could use the Snake Miraculous.

"Oh." Her eyes widened. Realization dawned. It was belated, but it did dawn. During their previous battles, Ladybug had always been the one to fetch any spare miraculous because she was the only one who knew the identities of their allies – save for Chloé, of course. They couldn't use any of their old allies, but there was one person who had used the snake miraculous before but had not responded to Hawk Moth's call. Ladybug would've been more than willing to send Chat to Adrien Agreste while she distracted the akuma from a safe distance, except for one rather large problem.

The miracle box was currently hidden at the back of her parent's bakery.

She wanted to slap herself for thinking it. Ladybug paused when she realized she hadn't thought through the consequences until now. She knew Chat preferred close-up battles. And now, here they were, fighting an akuma that would be much easier to defeat from a distance. Ladybug couldn't tell Chat where the box was hidden without revealing her civilian identity. This was yet another disadvantage when it came to leading a double life. She had to get the Snake Miraculous herself.

"What did you say?" Chat said, landing beside her.

"Can you keep her distracted while I go get some help?"

"Yeah, I'll do my best, but you don't know if Hawk Moth or Mayura is nearby, so be careful," he said worriedly. "don't be too long!"

"I'll be right back kitty." Ladybug turned on her heel and dashed off down the street then turned the corner. Chat had been right to warn her considering that was how they'd ended up in this mess in the first place. It meant that she couldn't just yoyo up to her balcony like she wanted to. She'd have to approach the bakery as Marinette.

-LB-X-CN-

Ladybug turned a corner and ducked into an empty alley. She could swear she was being watched but kept glancing around to find no one. She growled low in her throat while scanning the rooftops on either side. 'I'm just being paranoid,' she thought to herself as she tried to calm her nerves.

But above all her thoughts were centered on Chat and the fact that he'd been left to fend for himself. She wasn't usually this nervous, but she felt that Hawk Moth had gotten much more powerful during his break. For once, she hadn't felt in control and that had made her feel extremely anxious. 'I can't lose Chat Noir now. I just can't.' She knew she had no choice but to get help. And soon, they would get Adrien's assistance.

"Spots off!" she whispered.

"Marinette, are you doing? The akuma is still there!" she opened her eyes and looked at her with a look of confusion.

"We need help, I'm going home to get the Snake Miraculous," Marinette said, opening up her purse. Marinette smiled lightly and motioned for Tikki to fly into her purse. And then, she sprinted the whole way home, not caring about the fact that she was getting soaked because she had forgotten her umbrella back in the restaurant.

-LB-X-CN-

Marinette threw the bakery door open and sprinted inside, past her startled parents and to the back of the bakery. The miracle box was exactly where she had left it. Breathing heavily, she took the box and dashed upstairs until she reached her room. She pushed the trapdoor open, sank to her knees and opened the box up, looking at the rows of neatly arranged miraculouses.

Without letting Marinette know, Tikki quickly escaped from her purse and flew to her side. "Wait, are you sure we only need help from one more person?" Tikki chirped. "Why not call someone from your team?"

"Well...," Marinette chewed on her lower lip, uncertain. Did they need the other ones? Second Chance would go a long way towards improving the battle, but something like Shellter could be helpful too if the akuma got a lucky shot in. The Bee's speed could also work in their favor. "I'll call Max and Rose once we get out of here." She picked up the Snake miraculous and glanced at Tikki questioningly. Tikki smiled softly and nodded.

"Are you sure they can handle this, Marinette? They are still very new to this, and they haven't had the chance to help you out before,"

"I'm sure Tikki, they will do well," she paused. "I need someone for the Snake miraculous, but it's a bit risky since he's not part of our team, but he has wielded a miraculous before."

"Do you have someone on your mind?"

"Adrien Agreste, but now we must hurry."

"Wait, Adrien has already wielded the Snake miraculous. Have you forgotten -"

"That he made 29.000 mistakes and nearly lost me? No, but right now we don't have time to find someone else. Just trust me, okay? Let's go. Spots –"

"Wait!" Tikki exclaimed. "Your parents saw you entering the bakery. What will happen if they come up here and sees that you're gone again? I know you say that only miraculous wielders can enter your room, but it's not realistic. If you're missing, then your parents will come into your room and look for you. Whether you like it or not."

"Oh shit, I didn't think of that." Marinette sighed. "Just give me a moment, I have to hide the miraculous box." She used an incantation to change the appearance of the Miraculous box. It now looked like a doll's house. She placed it next to her bed. Marinette had no idea where they'd put it, but ideally, it would be someplace where both she and Chat could easily access it. She would have to tell him about it during their next patrol.

Tikki dove into her purse as she ran down the stairs and slid into the bakery. The bluenette had a faint hope that she would be able to exit the bakery without her parents noticing. There were no customers in the bakery, the counter was also abandoned by staff. 'S_o far so good,_' she smiled. But then a call from the back of the bakery alerted her. Marinette wanted to run, but she was rooted to the spot. She winced, pasting on a fake smile.

"Woah where are you off to in such a hurry?" Tom questioned. Sabine was standing next to him with her arms crossed.

"Adrien is waiting for me!" Marinette blurted out, which wasn't technically a lie – Adrien just wasn't aware of it. "He asked me to lunch. I just wanted to come home and get the lucky charm he made for me."

"That's not the most important question right now, Tom, "Sabine said with a raised eyebrow. "Where were you last night, Marinette? Why weren't you home by the time Papa and I went to bed?" Sabine said.

"I'm sorry, Maman. I got home right after but I didn't want to wake you," Marinette lied.

Sabine didn't buy it for a second. "You know the rules. You have a curfew for a reason. And now you're going out again?" Her tone strongly suggested that it better be good, or Marinette was going to find herself grounded.

"Please, Maman, it's _Adrien_!" Marinette clasped her hands, pleading. "I can't miss out on this opportunity. I've been waiting for this moment for years!" She said, a slight tremble in her voice.

Her father sighed, "Marinette, this isn't like you." Tom Dupain said with a worried expression.

It definitely wasn't like Marinette. She had never gotten in trouble before, maybe for misunderstandings, but not for something she had actually done. What could Marinette say of her own behavior? She was a bit surprised herself.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again. In reality, she had mixed feelings. But she knew she could have handled the situation better. She was Ladybug, after all. She had to remain calm at all times.

"What do we do now?" Tom turned to his wife. This was a new situation for them as well.

Her expression was grave and she looked deep in thought. "Well, I have heard that the Césaires grounds Alya whenever she sneaks off with her boyfriend,"

"Tom looked stunned. "Are you suggesting that we should ground our little girl?"

Marinette looked at her mother with pleading eyes. "Well...," She paused. "Take this as a warning. I'm not going to ground you, but you're on bakery duty every day for the rest of this week, after school, understood? And no more breaking your curfew."

"Understood. Thanks, Maman, Papa, see you soon!" Marinette ran for the door before her parents could change their minds.

"Wait, shouldn't you change into dry clothes?" Sabine shouted after her, but Marinette was already gone. Tom shook his head lightly and smiled.

Marinette jogged a few blocks away from the bakery before ducking into another alley. If she couldn't find Adrien and give him the Snake miraculous, then she would have to unify Tikki and Sass and fight alongside the others.

LB-X-CN-

Marinette called out for her transformation and felt it envelop her. One flash of red light later, she took to the sky, swinging to the roof of a neighboring building. Adrien had once told her that his father was very particular about Adrien going home during akuma attacks, even if they happened during school hours. So she hoped that he had returned safely home. She figured out the shortest route to his house and sprinted on the rooftops, her eyes immediately scanned the surrounding streets for movement, in case Adrien had chosen to hide somewhere along the way.

However, Adrien was nowhere to be seen.

She climbed the gate that bordered the Agreste mansion, used her yo-yo and landed on Adrien's window sill. Ladybug slowly pulled her body into a straightened position, peeked inside just in case Gabriel or Nathalie happened to be in the room with Adrien – she was positive that having a superhero stop by wouldn't go over that well for Adrien, and she didn't want to cause him trouble.

There was no sign of life - no sign. The room was dark, quiet, empty. She could just make out a stick or two of the furniture, but nothing else. She took a deep breath, pushed the window open and climbed inside. Ladybug thought she heard the shower running and assumed that Adrien might have been taking a shower after his run home in the rain. 'Just my imagination' she sighed. The bathroom was just as empty as the bedroom. Ladybug began looking around frantically.

"Adrien?" She spoke with bold confidence, and in the empty house her voice rang out like a challenge.

No answer. With a huff, she put her hands on her hips, realizing that Adrien had never made it back home. Had he found somewhere to hide? or –

She stopped her train of thoughts for a moment. Adrien was fine. He was definitely not sitting in a fountain, cleaning himself.

"Okay, I guess it's up to the four of us then," Ladybug said out loud. Having a small team was better than having no one. That meant that she would have to unify, but she didn't mind. Master Fu had warned her about unifying miraculous in the past, but she had chosen not to follow his warning and kept on practicing unification after his disappearance.

Ladybug then believed she heard somebody in the house. And her stomach flipped.

Then suddenly the grating sound of a harsh voice was heard from the other side of the door, "Adrien? Is that you?"

She heard steps coming towards the door. Her heart raced as she frantically searched for a place to hide. She heard the doorknob turn and the lights came on. It lit up the room, but it stayed dark where she was hiding.

Nathalie Sancoeur entered the room. She gasped when she noticed the open window.

"No,"

She came forward and looked straight where Ladybug was hiding, the young heroine held her breath.

It felt as she was looking straight at her.

Nathalie put her head outside the window and looked left and right. "Anyone out there? Hello?"

Then she slowly closed it. The lights went out and the door closed.

Ladybug sprang towards the window and jumped onto the edge of the of it, pulled back her arm and flung her yo-yo out into the city. With a _zip_, she was gone, vanishing over the gate that bordered the Agreste mansion.

-LB-X-CN-


	13. Chapter 12 compulserator part 2

**Chapter 12 Compulserator part 2**

'_That was so close, I wonder if she spotted me_,' She bent forward, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. The only thing left to do was calling for help. She opened her yoyo and typed out a quick message, sending it to Max and Rose. After a moment's thought, she took the Snake miraculous out of her pocket and clasped it on her wrist. The bracelet lit up with light that coalesced into Sass, who shook his head and then offered her a smile.

"Long time, no see, Ladybug," Sass said politely.

"I'm Sorry Sass, I don't have time to talk now. I need to get back to Chat Noir, he has been fending for himself for a long time now, needs me, " Ladybug said apologetically.

Standing tall, she clasped her hands together, calling out "Tikki! Sass! Unify!" Sass immediately turned back into light and vanished into the bracelet; warm light ran over Ladybug, and she staggered with slight dizziness as the pink and yellow light faded. She glanced down at herself and realized that all of the red parts of her suit had turned turquoise, so she knew it had worked. She then reset Second Chance.

With that done, and now duly prepared in case she encountered the akuma along the way, she started taking the fast way back to Chat and the battle. Her heart thudded in her chest as she ran, and she prayed that she wasn't too late. If Chat had been turned into a germ-obsessed-zombie, that akuma wasn't going to know what was coming for. Snakebug gritted her teeth and pushed herself to run faster.

Neither Chat nor Compulserator were to be seen. Snakebug surveyed the array of soap foam littering the streets below her, swallowing hard and hoping that her partner hadn't been attacked. But there was an easy to find out. She opened up her yoyo and checked the map, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that Chat's dot was moving. Furthermore, it wasn't that far away.

LB-X-CN-

He was perched on the edge of a building, taking a breather. His blond hair was plastered to his head from the rain; his kitty ears were so waterlogged that they drooped, and his tail was a sodden dark line on the roof. Snakebug landed behind him. '_Now this is a sorry sight,_'

She wet her lips and began to speak.

"I thought cats were afraid of getting wet," Snakebug gazed at him with a combination of affection and exasperation.

Chat's right kitty ear twitched at her voice and he twisted around to smile at her. "It's a bit funny actually. All cats love fish but they're afraid to wet their paws. I would rather be snuggled up next to the fireplace at the moment, but I'm glad to see you again, I thought you had left me for good, Bugaboo." Chat said, shaking his hair like a wet dog shakes its fur, sending droplets raining in all directions.

"Hey, now!" Ladybug squeaked as she was hit by a fine spray of water.

"Oops, sorry." he smiled impishly, his green eyes glinting.

He offered her a genuine smile and she felt her heart swell at the unrestrained happiness. Snakebug mock scowled. She fought back the huge smile that threatened to form on her lips, then she sat down beside him. She refused to admit that the once-hated nickname had actually grown on her to the point where she didn't mind if he used it now. It would give him too much satisfaction.

"But now I guess I need a new nickname for you," Chat said with a grin.

She punched him playfully in the arm. "Stop!"

"Why? I obviously can't call you bugaboo now that you're half-snake," he paused. "How about... snakeaboo?"

"Oh God, no! Don't you dare." she groaned. "No more nicknames."

There was a moment of silence between them before he glanced at her.

"Hey, Chat?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry I left you to fend for yourself back there, we're partners, we're a team, we're supposed to do this together."

Chat remained silent.

"I won't let it happen again. I just too-"

"I thought you went to get help? Couldn't you find anyone?"

They hadn't really talked about the new team she had picked out. She hadn't been able to figure out how to tell him that she had shown her true identity to them first. Ladybug knew he would get furious as he hated secrets. He didn't know that she had given some of the Miraculous permanently to her classmates. She sometimes doubted her own decision, since it was risky to involve anyone else from their school. It would be too easy for Hawkmoth to put two and two together and figure out that Ladybug attended Collège Françoise Dupont. But it was too late to take them back. They just had to be really, really careful.

Her eyes lowered. "I have called Tortuga and Beatrix. They should arrive here shortly."

"Tortuga and Beatrix?"

"You haven't met them yet. Chat," she closed her eyes. "I'm not sure if Master Fu told you before he disappeared...,"

"Told me what?"

"T-that-" She hesitated for a moment, then turned to look him in the eyes. "That I'm the new Guardian now."

"Wait, what?!"

"I guess he didn't tell you then. "she paused."I … I have picked out new heroes to help us in emergencies," she told him. "I gave the Turtle, Tiger, Mouse, Dragon, Fox and Bee…to different people that weren't revealed during the Miracle Queen incident."

"Oh…cool. Any chance you might share who they are with me?"

"No…I won't be sharing them with you. Not with as often as you get hit with mind control attacks," she sighed. He pouted at her.

"And why pick different holders for three of them? I mean, I get Chloé, but…"

"Because Hawkmoth discovered the identities of every temporary hero with the last incident," she reminded him. "If the situation escalates, he could specifically target them and their families."

"Oh, come on…this is the same guy that's picked the same baby and the same pigeon guy over a dozen times each already," he joked. "And seriously…The last incident was pretty…well you know…we always deal with Chloé's tantrums pretty easily in the long run."

"It's still not a chance I'm willing to take," she snapped. "This isn't a game."

"All right, I guess," he pouted.

Ladybug glanced over her shoulder, sighing internally when she was met with flashing green eyes and compressed lips.

"And I wanted to find someone who could use the Snake Miraculous, but the person I was looking for wasn't available."

"Who were you after?" Chat asked automatically, then caught himself and winced. "Sorry, I didn't –"

"Adrien. Adrien Agreste," Snakebug said because she was fed up with keeping everything secret, and technically Chat already knew this one anyway.

Chat tensed. "O-oh?"

"Yeah, but he was nowhere to be found. He wasn't at home. I'm hoping he didn't get caught up in something," she said.

"I'm – I'm sure he's safe and sound." he paused, turning slightly red. "Perhaps it's for the best, you know. Adrien most likely wasn't the right choice anyway," Chat answered sadly, looking down at his hands.

Snakebug looked at him sharply, perhaps sharper than she intended. "What are you referring to by...?"

"Well, he couldn't help you last time, remember?" Chat said, still not looking at her. "You said that he failed… what, over 29,000 times or something like that? That's a lot of missteps." He looked toward the city lights to hide his glistening eyes. "And at some point, he almost lost you."

"Hold on, now. That incident was different," Snakebug protested. "Desperada was a complicated villain. Even Viperion struggled to help us defeat her. And besides, you weren't around either." She crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look. "Maybe if you had been, Aspik would've had an easier time."She immediately felt a crushing sense of guilt when she saw his reaction**.**

A barely visible flinch from Chat indicated that he was affected by Snakebug's words. It wasn't fair to throw something like that in his face, even if it was in Adrien's defense, because he didn't like talking about Desperada. She had always assumed that Chat hated the fact that he had not been there for her.

"Chat...," She hesitated, then took a step closer to him and reached for him, letting her hand drop when she realized he didn't want her to. His reaction hurt more than she wanted to admit.

"It's all good. It's true. I was totally useless in that fight," His mouth was set, and she saw the muscles in his jaw flex slightly.

"I-" she started to say, her voice shaky. But then she shook her head, let her jaw jut out, and blinked. "I shouldn't have said that," she paused. "Chat, I'm sorry, I didn't-" Snakebug felt worry pull at her heart as she watched him.

But he merely shook his head and walked forward.

"All right," she said wearily, deciding to drop the subject for now. "Let's put an end to this akuma."

"Right," he said, still not meeting her eyes, and jumped off the roof. Snakebug wiped the rain from her face and sighed in frustration before following.

-CN-x-LB-

Tortuga and Beatrix landed on the roof beside them, "Ladybug," Tortuga called.

She turned around to face him, "Good to see you both,"

"Good to see you guys too," Beatrix grinned. "Is anyone else showing up?"

"Not for this fight." snakebug said.

"We need to find compulsator. She is-"

"I can hear some screams coming from the Arc de Triomphe." Chat muttered, his ears twitching.

"All right, so we'll head over there."

"Looks like we're going to need a plan," Tortuga muttered.

The four gathered on the roof of a building near the Arc where they had a clear view of Compulserator.

"I..." Snakebug paused. _'Where is the akuma hiding,'_ she wondered while scanning the villain. "I have a feeling that the akuma is in the soap dispenser."

"What makes you think that?" Chat Noir questioned.

"Haven't you seen the way she's holding on to it for her life? She's way too protective of it."

"It could also be in her earrings," Beatrice muttered.

"Or in her belt?" Tortuga sighed.

"all right, so we don't know where the akuma is at the moment, but listen closely. I'll need everyone's powers for this, and we're going to need to make it fast...,"

-CN-X-LB-

They landed on the ground, narrowly avoiding some of the soap foam, and started running in the direction of Compulserator. As they grew near, Tortuga took the shield from his back and held it out in front of them. They rounded the corner to where the akuma was, and Snakebug slid her finger across the Snake miraculous to activate its power. The silvery flash told her she'd been successful.

"Guys. Be careful," she warned them.

"I know, but really, it's hard to take this akuma seriously when this whole situation looks a bad meme," Chat Noir remarked. His lighthearted answer gave her hope that maybe he wasn't mad after all, and she took both her yoyos in each hand and swung them loosely.

A chuckle escaped Bea's lips.

"Let's do this, guys," Snakebug said.

Beatrix nodded to Ladybug, who nodded in return.

"We are right behind you, My Lady," Chat Noir said, and launched himself out in front of her. The rest of the team followed quickly on his heels as the akuma swung around to face them.

The akuma striked again, only to hit Tortuga's force shield.

"Time to say your goodbyes, Ladybug!"

She was just about to roll out of the way to let an already controlled citizen take the blast that was heading her way when she saw Chat Noir leap in the path of the attack. He was hit with a blast of soap and started trembling. His eyes turned purple. "W-what's going on?" It just took a couple of seconds before Chat started grooming himself just like a cat. And he was... purring?

"Chat," her partner didn't react, he was just licking his glove over and over. "Chat! you idiot!" she sighed. He always acted without thinking or looking at the full situation! Her partner was completely immobilized.

"I have just started, I will not say goodbye yet," Snakebug said grimly, touching the Snake miraculous. She slid it back with a flick of her finger. The world seemed to hesitate before suddenly dissolving around them; the next thing she knew, she was standing side-by-side with Chat Noir, who was no longer acting like a cat, with the akuma somewhere in front of them. Just as it had been for the past seven times she used Second Chance.

Bea was once again throwing her spinning top at compulserator.

"I know, but really, it's hard to take this akuma seriously when -"

"This looks like a bad meme, we know," Tortuga snapped, and Chat Noir blinked at him in surprise. Then he cocked his head and understanding fell across his face. His shoulders bowed and he straightened up as though he had been pressed down by heavyweight.

"How many times?" he asked gently and swallowed hard.

"This is the eight. I don't know what's wrong! the akuma comes up from behind us every damn time, and hits you with a blast of soap," Snakebug said, torn between frustration and grief. Being turned into a grooming cat wasn't the worst way she had ever lost her partner, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Someday, she was going to kick Hawkmoth in the backside for every time she'd been forced to mourn Chat Noir.

"Hey, it's okay guys. Let's think this through. What are we doing wrong? What can we do differently? Is it better for us to separate and come in on opposite sides?" Bea asked.

Snakebug shook her head. "No, we tried that. It didn't work," Snakebug exaggeratingly huffed as she threw her arms into the air.

Bea nodded, as though she'd anticipated that answer.

"Have you called for your Lucky Charm yet?" Chat Noir wondered.

"No. Not yet. I haven't had the chance because she gets us every time before I can." Snakebug frowned. "You think I should? But we don't even know for sure where the akuma is yet...I only have a feeling." They were screwed if she had to go somewhere to charge Tikki up, and sometimes that happened if either of them called for their powers too early. But on the other hand, maybe her Lucky Charm would be just the thing necessary to turn the tides of the battle.

"It seems logical that it would be her soap dispenser. Maybe your Lucky Charm will enable us to get close enough that I can -" He wiggled his fingers at her.

"All right. I guess it's worth a try. Lucky Charm!" Snakebug threw her yoyo aloft, watching as the familiar red light shot up the string. There was a particularly bright burst of light and then a rope fell into her hands.

"A rope?" Chat Noir said blankly. "How is some rope going to help us?!"

Snakebug looked around for inspiration. Her eyes fell upon the rope in her hands, Tortuga, Beatrice, Chat Noir, the Arc, then onto Compulserator's ankle. Slowly, she smiled. "Okay, I have a plan we haven't tried before. We only have about five minutes. We're going to lure her to the Arc, Tortuga we'll need you to use shelter when Compulserator attack.

Bea, you have the most dangerous job. During all the chaos I'll loop the rope around her ankle like a lasso. I need you to paralyze her with your venom when she tries to escape, then Chat Noir can use his cataclysm to destroy the soap dispenser. Does everyone understand what they need to do? "

"Aye Aye."

"I'm going to be the distraction," she declared. "Be ready to go after her, got it?"

They all nodded before they separated. Breathing a quiet prayer, Snakebug ran towards the Arc. She fit the rope around the Arc and pulled as hard as she could; with the increased strength gifted to her by the new suit. Snakebug then threw both her yoyos and snagged Compulserator's arm. The Akuma started to move towards the Arc. Ladybug kept hitting the Akuma with her yoyos until Compulserator was standing in front of the Arc.

The heroine formed the end of the rope like a lasso and swung the rope in the air. She tried to throw the lasso at Compulserator, but missed on her first try. She swung the shield over her head and tried again, gasping as she felt her suit's strength. Her arms shook as she threw the lasso once more, aiming it in the direction of the akuma. It was with a lot of satisfaction that she heard the akuma scream.

"Bea, NOW!"

"Venom!"

"Damn you, Ladybug!" it shrieked.

"Now!" Snakebug shouted, and saw the black figure of her partner go sprinting out from the shadows to her left. The akuma didn't see him coming, as it was paralyzed, and Chat Noir was on it within seconds, snatching the soap dispenser out of her hands.

"Cataclysm!" he shouted, and the item went up in black smoke. Snakebug breathed a sigh of relief when a purple butterfly fluttered free and began to fly away.

"Oh no you won't," she yelled, "Time to De-evilize!" She swung her yoyo out and caught the butterfly, then pulled her yoyo close and ran her finger across the surface. "Bye bye, little butterfly." Snakebug watched the white butterfly flutter away before returning to Chat Noir.

"Pound it!"

"Wh-what happened?" the very confused woman asked Chat Noir as he helped her to her feet. The woman gasped in horror as she took in the state of the street: the damaged shops, the soap-filled streets, the germ-obsessed zombies that were wandering around. Bea placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Snakebug shouted, throwing the rope into the air. It exploded into thousands of miniature ladybugs, which swept across the street. The next thing Snakebug knew, they were surrounded by dozens of equally baffled Parisians, and the streets were back to normal.

"It's all right," Bea was saying as Snakebug walked over. "You were akumatized, but it's no big deal. Everything is back to normal."

"Right. I - thank you," the young woman smiled.

"You're welcome," Snakebug said with a small smile. "Bug out!" She made her way to the top of the nearest roof. Chat Noir, Bea, and Tortuga joined her a few seconds later, and they exchanged relieved looks.

"That was a hard one." Bea sighed.

"You did a good job, I know you do not have much experience, but you both did very well back there." Snakebug smiled.

"Thank you," Tortuga smiled.

"Sass, Tikki, divide!" Snakebug said, and watched as her spots returned to just plain black. She smiled admiringly at Sass before sliding the bracelet off her wrist; she would give him his favorite treat once she got home, Sass had worked hard today and deserved a reward as much as Tikki and Plagg did.

"Well, see you soon, I guess!" Bea waved.

"Yeah, please join us on our patrol tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, then." Tortuga smiled, and then the two of them left.

The atmosphere changed as soon as Tortuga and Bea had left. It felt tight and uncomfortable. Both remained silent, and Chat Noir avoided looking at her.

Ladybug was deep in her own thoughts; she wanted to tell him about the location of the miracle box, but she was down to one spot left on her earrings, and Chat Noir had three pads left on his ring. The heroine knew that a discussion like that needed to be longer than two minutes, as she knew it would take some time to come up with a reasonable alternative. Now was not the right moment. She watched Chat starting to walk away and reached out for him.

"Chat," he turned around to face her. "Please, don't leave,"

Chat frowned at her. "Don't you have to go?"

"Yes, but - " she paused. Her earrings begun to beep. Her lips twitched. "What I said earlier about the Desperada incident, I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean it." their eyes met. "What happened back then wasn't your or Adrien's fault. It was no one's fault," Ladybug said, willing him to believe it.

"Thank you," Chat said, his face softened into a smile that invaded his eyes. He then leaned in towards her. Ladybug felt her heart beating a bit faster. Her eyes grew big as saucers as soon as she realized what the blonde was about to do. Her breath caught as his lips touched the curve of her cheek, right where her mask lay against her cheekbone. He lingered for a moment, long enough for her to inhale the scent of his cologne, and then he drew away. He bowed his head to her, and then turned away and used his newly restored baton to propel himself off the rooftop.

She touched her cheek with trembling fingers, her face burning.

"... What?" She winced.

-LB-X-CN-

This wasn't the first time he'd kissed her. Chat Noir had kissed her hand before, many times, and she thought he might have even kissed her cheek before, but it had never felt like _that_. Her heart was suddenly galloping in her chest, and it had very little to do with the battle they'd just been through. The rain was coming down in sheets now, but she stood still, staring after him until her earrings gave the last beep that meant she only had a couple of seconds until the last of Tikki's strength would give out. Then she cursed and scrambled to get off the roof, landing in an alley mere seconds before her transformation gave out.

"Oh! Ouch! Those unifications are exhausting!" Tikki breathed, landing in Marinette's hands.

"I'm sorry Tikki. I promise I'll get you some of the really good cookies once we come home," Marinette muttered, but she was still distracted and Tikki could tell. The small, pink creature sat up, staring at Marinette with narrowed eyes.

"All right, did I miss something?"

"No," Marinette lied, and quite unsuccessfully at that judging from Tikki's skeptical expression. Marinette sighed. "I may have implied that the reason Aspik and I failed all those times with Desperada was that Chat wasn't around." She grimaced as she spoke.

"Oh, no you didn't. Marinette!" Tikki groaned.

"I-"

"Marinette, that was a horrible thing to say! You know that Chat takes your health and safety very seriously. For you to imply that Ladybug had died 29,000 times because he hadn't been there-"

"I know, I know. I shouldn't have said that. But I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I regret it so much. It was awful of me." Marinette hung her head. "It's just...,"

"Mmm?"

"He was claiming that Adrien was a bad choice to be a miraculous holder, and I was just trying to defend Adrien."

There was a small but significant pause before Tikki said, "Ah. Adrien."

"I swear didn't do it because I still have feelings for Adrien!" Marinette replied fast, assuming that was what Tikki was thinking.

Marinette was feeling very confused. She was supposed to be letting both of them go, but the date with Adrien had been nice, and there were moments where he'd made her heart flutter. And that kiss from Chat had left her spellbound, and part of her – a very small part – might have wanted more…It just wasn't fair that her feelings for Adrien were the same as ever, while her feelings for Chat Noir were deepening.

"Of course you didn't," Tikki said patronizingly.

Marinette sighed. "I'm going to have to bring Chat a lot of apology pastries, aren't I?"

"That sounds like a good plan."

-CN-x-LB-

"Plagg, claws in." Chat Noir said as he transformed out of his superhero alter ego and he knew instantly that something was off with Plagg.

Upon reverting back Plagg had flown out and instead of hovering tiredly in front of Adrien or looking for cheese, the kwami was laying on Adrien's couch in a curled ball shivering, coughing and occasionally sneezing. It was clear that the small, black creature was sick.

"Plagg! what's wrong?"


	14. Chapter13

Chapter 13 Sick

"Plagg! What's wrong?" The blonde asked with concern in his voice. He sat down next to the small creature and pulled it into his cupped hands. Plagg was burning. "Oh no, you have a fever? Don't you?" Adrien had never seen Plagg acting like this before, and he was deeply concerned for his small friend.

"Don't worry about me, Adrien. I'm fine."

"You don't look well."

"I'm fine. Honestly." Plagg said before he sneezed violently, showing that he was anything but fine. "I just need to rest and recuperate. This cold will pass in a couple of days, at most."

"Plagg, you are clearly sick. You need to go to a doctor, a vet, a healer, or whatever kwamis go to when they are feeling unwell."

"No!" Plagg protested. "No healers." then he coughed. "They just poke you, they don't make you feel better. I just need to rest. I'll be fine, Adrien."

The small creature was coughing violently, sneezing, and shivering in Adrien's hands. It was clear that he was feeling unwell and that he needed help. Adrien knew however that Plagg was incredibly stubborn. And he almost seemed to be afraid of healers.

"Plagg, listen closely." The blonde inhaled sharply. "You. Are.Sick." Adrien said forcefully in order to get his point across. " And you are going to tell me where I can find this healer. I know you know where we can find one. So speak up. You need help."

"But- "

"No buts. We are going. Today. Healers are there to help you get better. There's nothing to be scared of. "

"Fine. I admit that I am scared of healers because they poke and prod me and I dislike that. " Plagg said with a dramatic flourish as he put a paw to his forehead in an exaggerated fashion that would have been amusing and typical for Plagg had it not been ruined by another coughing fit. "I just like my personal space. "

"Oh, Plagg. I will make sure they don't hurt-."

"No. You can't promise me that. There are only a few healers around that can help Kwamis. We are supposed to be a secret after all. And these healers are using archaic methods. " once again Plagg's was hindered by a coughing fit and a few violent sneezes that Adrien thought were too big for a Kwami to physically produce. "The last time I saw a healer, about 934 years ago, he put 2000 needles in me to cure me of my ailment."

"You must have looked like a hedgehog." Adrien laughed.

"This is no laughing matter." Plagg coughed. "I wasn't aware that it was possible to put 2000 needles into a Kwami, we are tiny creatures after all. But it can be done, and let me tell you that the process is both unpleasant and painful. I am not repeating ordeal just to get healed. This will pass too. I will be fine again soon."

Adrien sighed. "Fine. But then I guess we can't go on the patrol tomorrow. I can't transform if you're sick. Remember what you said when you had Chloé's bracelet stuck over your eyes? If I transform when you are affected by impurities, then I will be affected as well when I'm Chat Noir. And I won't be very useful if I'm coughing and sneezing every other second, now will I? "

Plagg remained silent.

"What if I got defeated and the Akuma took my miraculous? I don't think my lady would be very happy then."

"We just defeated an Akuma! Today! There won't be any more attacks within the next couple of days. And I just need a couple of days to rest." Plagg sneezed again. "I can and I will heal on my own. Trust me."

"Plagg while I usually trust you, you are currently being a stubborn, irrational, ass." Adrien said with a hint of sternness to his kwami. "You know as well as I do that the number of Akuma attacks have increased again recently. The chances of an akuma attack any day is still high. There is no telling when an akuma attack might happen. No Plagg we need to get you healed as soon as possible just in case. Paris needs Cat Noir and Cat Noir needs Plagg."

"Come on Adrien just because a couple of attacks have happened recently doesn't mean that another will be happening tomorrow." Plagg said with a cough, the kwami was definitely starting to burn up in Adrien's hands. "So what if you can't transform for a few days, it's better than going to see a healer. I will be fine Adrien, take the days as a small holiday from being Cat Noir, you deserve it."

Again Plagg was coughing, sneezing and shivering as he was speaking and it was becoming clear that the more Plagg spoke the harder it got for him. The small, black creature was really sick but being a stubborn fool because of his dislike for healers based on outdated techniques. The blonde realized that the only way to persuade Plagg to go to a healer was to use dirty, extreme, tricks and he knew the dirtiest, most extreme, trick that would ensure that Plagg cooperated. It was time to break out the big guns.

"All right Plagg, if you are so insistent on not seeking treatment and fighting this off yourself, then I won't stop you, but if we should go down this path then I want to make a couple of rules." The blonde said calmly to his kwami. The tiny creature nodded eagerly at this with a small smile that Adrien knew would vanish in a second.

"So, the first rule is that you are going on a diet change until you have become healthy again. In other words you will not get any cheese for a month. We need to rule out allergies and ensure that you will not get sick again."

"No cheese for a month?"

"That's right. No cheese. No Camembert. For a month."

"Wait!" Plagg tried to shout but it came out as a wheezing cough that took a moment to subside before the kwami could continue his objections. "That's so unfair."

"No, this is perfectly fair." The boy said with a wicked smile. "You need a healer and I know you know where to find one. Because I surely do not know where to take a sick kwami. So the choice is simple. Let me take you to a healer and get you healed right away or fight this yourself and accept my conditions for doing that. Be healed and get to eat Camembert or stay sick and live without it for a month."

"You're evil Adrien, you know that right." Plagg said with a sigh and a sneeze. "Very well, the loss of my gooeyness is greater than the brief pain of a healing. I know where a healer is who can treat kwamis. She is the only one in Paris, probably the world, who can heal me but you have to tell her I am an exotic cat or something."

" I can do that." Adrien said with a relieved sigh that he had finally gotten through to his stubborn kwami. "Now tell me where to take you."

Adrien proceeded to sneak out of his house as he didn't want to have to explain to anyone where he was going and this was something that had to be done in private. Plagg then directed Adrien to a familiar building that Adrien had visited countless times. The blonde raised his eyebrows in shock.

"This is a joke, right?"

"No."

"Plagg. Your fever must be worse than I thought. This is the Dupain-Cheng bakery. There are no healers here." He paused. " you can't be serious."

"Hey, kid. I don't joke with that kind of stuff!" Plagg pouted.

"B-but this is impossible. It can't be right. You must have gotten lost. I-I thought—"

"Keep it down! Nobody can know about this!!" Plagg hissed.

"Know about what?" Adrien then freaked out. Was Marinette the healer? Was she some kind of sorcerer?

"Just open the door, will you? My cheese is on stake here!"

-LB-x-CN

The bell rang when he opened the door to the bakery.

"Hello Adrien. Are you here to see Marinette?" Marinette's mum greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, is she home?"

"Yes. She's in her room, just go on. I can't leave, there's macrons in the oven."

Adrien thanked her and went up to the living quarters' section of the bakery. He hesitated for a moment.

"Are you sure she can heal you?" Adrien whispered. He unclenched his hands and looked at Plagg, resting in his palms.

"Yeah. I am pawsitive kid." He coughed. "Now, go."

And with that, Adrien ascended the flight of the stairs that led up to Marinette's room.

-LB-x-CN

The trapdoor creaked as Adrien opened it.

Marinette was sitting by her computer, drooling over a picture released of Adrien's newest commercial.

"Maman! I clearly said I did not want any visitors at the moment." She began before she turned around and took in the full scene. Adrien Agreste, the love of her life, was standing there slack jawed with a shocked expression on his face just staring at Marinette. Marinette realized with a shock of horror that Tikki was there with her and very visible. Then her eyes focused on the jet black thing laying in his palms.

"A-Adrien?!?" She jumped from her desk. "w-what are y-you doing here?" Marinette asked cursing at herself for stuttering again. She hurriedly turned off her computer, hoping he hadn't seen her screensaver.

Her eyes went wide in both horror and then shock when she clearly recognized Plagg for what he was. Then for some reason that Adrien didn't understand, she strained in an unnaturally stiff posture, her mouth a tight, frightened line and her face blushing a deep red.

-CN-x-LB-

Adrien was here and he was with an unknown but somehow familiar kwami. There was no doubt that it was the Cat Kwami, which meant that Adrien had to be Cat Noir. Her crush was also her crime fighting partner, a crime fighting partner that Marinette knew had feelings for Ladybug, which meant that Cat Noir, Adrien had feelings for her. It was all too much and Marinette was certain she was about to die from the sensory overload of everything. This was not supposed to happen.

Then it dawned upon her, she had already kissed Adrien, not because she wanted to, but because she had to, in dark Cupid. So many thoughts raced through her head. So many feelings rushed through her body. She felt dizzy. She felt warm, then cold. Her vision turned blurry. At some point she swore she could see three Adriens at once.

A small smile formed on her lips and she could feel relief flow through her body.

She felt relieved. She had been having feelings for Adrien for years now. And recently started to develop feelings for Chat Noir. She had fallen in love with both of them. Now she didn't have to choose between them.

A large sneeze from the black Kwami brought her out of her train of thoughts.

"I.. um.. my cat is sick.. my very extraordinary cat.. which I got him from my aunt.. it's a rare breed..a friend told me you could help him?" Adrien started.

"Let me see him."

Adrien silently passed Plagg over to Marinette, who gently put the Kwami on the pillow. Then she held her hands over the tiny creature. She closed her blue belle eyes. She opened her eyes again, lit an incense stick which smelled like cooked cheese for some odd reason and placed it under plagg's nose. A smile formed on the kwami's lips once he had inhaled the smoke. Marinette then put the stick down and picked up a gong that Adrien had not spotted in her room before. She then struck the gong over Plagg and intoned softly with the reverberation of the gong. Once the gong vibrating, Marinette finished her intonation and put the gong down. The girl then waved the incense in Plagg's face again before putting the still smoking stick down next to the gong. She placed her hands over Plagg again closed her eyes. After a minute she nodded, put her hands down and looked at Adrien.

"He's healed now." Marinette smiled. "His energy was blocked, I have cleared it. He should be perfectly healthy now."

"Can he get up?" Adrien asked as he looked at Plagg who was still on the pillow his eyes closed, breathing deeply and no longer shivering.

"I believe so." Marinette said with a smile. "If I am right I believe he has fallen asleep and is refusing to wake up."

"That is so much like him." Adrien said with a smile just as Plagg let out a loud snore. "Come on Plagg wake up, I know your faking it you lazy thing."

"What did you say he was again?" She asked Adrien with a strange twinkle in her eye.

"A cat." Adrien answered quickly. It wasn't a hard lie to believe seeing as Plagg did look like a black cat version of a kwami after all. "A very rare one from the Kingdom of Achu."

Plagg finally and very reluctantly opened eyes, yawned and stretched in a very catlike way. His green eyes focused on Marinette for a long moment and Adrien could have sworn he saw recognition in his kwami's green eyed gaze for a moment before Plagg shook his head and flew over to hover just above Adrien's shoulder.

"That can also fly." Adrien hastily added after Plagg showed off his ability to fly. "As I said a very rare cat indeed, auntie thought it was unique hence why she bought it for me. See Plagg that wasn't so painful was it."

"You can drop the act, Chaton. "

Adrien stiffened out of fear as soon as he heard one of the two pet names Ladybug used for Chat Noir. How had Marinette known that he was Chat Noir? Wait, she had just used a name only Ladybug used for him. That meant that Marinette had to be Ladybug, which meant that Ladybug liked him back because he knew that Marinette had feelings for him. Well he had a feeling that she liked him. Ladybug had said that she liked Adrien Agreste during one of their conversations.

-CN-x-LB-

Adrien just blinked at Marinette's words. "W-what did you say?"

"I know a Kwami when I see one." She paused. "And that black creature is the Cat Kwami. So, that means you're Chat Noir."

It all clicked in Adrien's mind. Marinette was Ladybug, there was no other explanation for it. That meant that her kwami was the Ladybug Kwami. Well that made things interesting for Adrien. He was now looking at Marinette in a new light. If she was indeed Ladybug then that meant she was the girl he was in love with. Not that it would change anything. He wouldn't have asked her out for lunch if he only saw her as a friend. He had started to develop feelings for Marinette. This was going to be interesting.

"I assume that if you know about kwamis then you're Ladybug, and that means that you're the guardian... wow." He paused. "I'm not really surprised though."

"Really? What gave it away?"

"I've had a feeling for some time, but what really gave it away was when you talked about your crush, Adrien Agreste. Remember? I said I was in his fan club?"

Marinette blushed. She nodded. "Yes. I remember our conversation."

-LB-x-CN-

"I guess we have many things to talk about." Marinette started. "Wait here. I'll be right back." Marinette muttered before she closed the trapdoor. She made her way into her parents bakery and put some chocolate chip cookies on a plate.

She then returned to the living quarters of the bakery and rushed up the stairs to her room.

-LB-X-CN-

Marinette brought out two cups and began to poor, gesturing Adrien over to join her.

Adrien slowly walked over to Marinette and knelt down opposite her as she poured him a cup of tea. Marinette slowly, still beet red, offered him the cup of tea with trembling hands. Her actions and blush gave Adrien a moments pause, she really did like him as more than just a friend.

"I think it is time for me to share some of the Miraculous secrets with you now, we have been partners for ages and I don't want to keep things from you anymore."

Adrien nodded and reached for a cookie. After the first chew, his eyes lit up and he chewed faster. He paused for a second. Closed his eyes and sighed. Then he started chewing again. These are so good!" The blonde mumbled, licking a stray crumb from his fingertip.

"I keep the Grimoire up here in my bookshelf. It's the ancient book I asked you to help me translate. I have a scroll that makes translating a bit easier. It contains incantations and everything you need to know as a guardian. I also keep the miracle box up here, it is shaped like a dolls house. You can see it over there, in the corner. I store all of the miraculous in there that do not have a wielder. Hawk Moth has the Moth Miraculous and no one knows where the Peacock Miraculous is. I think that about covers it. Any questions?"

"The Peacock Miraculous." Adrien began. Once all Marinette had said sunk in, the peacock reference jogged something in the back of Adrien's mind. "What does it look like?"

"A fanned out peacock tail." The blue bell eyed girl said automatically. "The specific item of jewelry that it is is a broach, as is the Moth Miraculous though that looks like a spread out moth wings. Why do you ask Adrien?"

"I, I, may have seen something like that before." Adrien said thinking back to the strange broach he had seen in his father's secret safe. This caused Marinette to look at him.

"Where?" She asked seriously. "It has been lost for years, around the same time as the Moth Miraculous was lost hence why we think that whoever has the Moth Miraculous has the Peacock one as well. Therefore, when Hawk Moth appeared I thought that the Peacock Miraculous might be with him as well as the Moth Miraculous."

"I will have to double check." Adrien said trying not to think about what the implications could be if he was right. "I want to be sure before I say anything, I hope you understand."

"I will look into this, Marinette" Adrien said as he took another bite of his cookie. It was really good but then again Marinette clearly knew how to bake. "I should be able to make it next week."

"Good." She said with a kind smile before putting on a very serious face. "Now that all of this is in the open between the two of us, we both are going to have to be extra careful regarding our secret identities. I had hoped that this would not happen but it was inevitable that it would. I would have to know the identity of the cat miraculous at some point anyway, I just didn't expect it to happen now. This was certainly not the way I was imagining to to happen but as I said earlier this is probably the best way it could have happen and now we will have to deal with this going forward. We need to make sure that we are alone if we are going to discuss this with each other and be very careful."

Marinette paused and looked at Adrien who nodded at her words.

"I understand."

"I wasn't expecting to heal a sick kwami today but sometimes life happens." Marinette said with a smile. "I hope you do not blame yourself Adrien, perhaps this is for the best. Now that we both know who the other is I believe that we can help each other more than before. Besides I think there are a few things the two of us are going to have to work out now that we know who the other is and all that that now entails, on a more personal level that is."

"And I can't believe it." Marinette muttered, changing the subject. "Master Fu knew about our identities all along, and yet he never told us." Marinette continued, chewing eagerly on her cookie. "I bet he knew about our feelings for each other, but he never "guided" us in the right direction. He never told us about this."

"He kept it secret because of his own experience. Don't blame him. He just didn't want you two to experience the same thing as him." Tikki chirped. "He only wanted to protect you." Tikki sighed.

"And I also think that if you knew about each other's identities earlier on, then that might have

changed your behavior towards each other and compromised your superhero abilities, especially considering the love square situation. If you had found this out sooner, then your attitudes towards each other would definitely have changed. Which then again would have completely changed the group dynamics. This might have made you flustered around each other, and made you loose your focus. Additionally, what if one of you got hurt and the other called you by your real name?"

Both Adrien and Marinette remained silent.

"I am not saying that any of this might happen now, but you must try to behave like usual. You can't give any hints away to Hawk Moth. I do believe that the two of you have grown, and that this happened at the best possible time." Tikki offered them a smile.

"Well, now the cat is out of the bag, literally. So now you have to deal with it." Plagg laughed, swallowing a piece of Camembert.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_Just hold me, never leave me._

The cafeteria.

She had forgotten her lunch at home, and she cursed herself for it. Marinette was standing alone, holding her tray of pasta and tomato sauce.

How she hated standing in the line at the cafeteria.

She groaned. She had moved forward only a few paces in the queue, and she had been avoiding her friends since their first class. She knew they would grill her about her lunch with Adrien. People she had never spoken with would send her looks, and whisper whenever she was near. So she knew someone had spotted them together.

Marinette didn't know where she should sit. She scanned the perimeter of the room, brow furrowed. How was it possible that literally every single table in this godforsaken room was taken?

Every table that she looked at was full of teenagers finishing up their homework. She saw Chloé and Sabrina exchanging gossip in between mouthfuls of pizza. She also saw classmates showing each other memes or messages on their phones and laughing.

And then she spotted Lila, sitting there all by herself.

Anybody else – literally anybody else would have been able to suck it up, slap on a smile, approach her table, and make conversation for fifty-five minutes. Sure it might be a tad awkward, but they'd survive it, and everyday they'd try again, until they eventually found their soul-sister/brother/sibling-or-gender-neutral-equivilent.

'Hold on' she thought. 'Me, having a soul-sister/brother/sibling-or-gender-neutral relationship with Lila?! What am I thinking?!'

She spotted a free table, but her feet, in their pink ballerina flats, were like lead. Her heart was hammering under her white sweater, so loudly that she was sure that everybody could hear it, making them notice her.

Her palms grew sweaty as she spotted Alix, Rose, Mylene, Juleka and Alya entering the cafeteria. Her breath hitched in her throat as her five friends all turned and looked at her at the same time. Suddenly she sympathized with the prey animals that got cornered by larger predators. Like she had seen on documentaries.

She could always just drop her tray and run out the doors, not stopping until she reached her parents bakery. This was certainly tempting, but it fell into the category of 'making a spectacle of herself'

If ever there was a right time for an Akuma attack, it was now.

'Deep breath.'

She took a tentative step towards the rows and rows of tables, when she felt something come up behind her and tap her on the shoulder. She reflexively let out a little squeal and spun around, almost dropping her tray in the process. She was suddenly staring into a pair of startlingly blue eyes, framed by strands of blonde hair.

"R-Rose." She stuttered. "You spooked me, I was about to sit down, and - well - yeah, I was sitting down here and - you just scared me, I got scared and -" _'You're rambling Marinette. You're rambling, you're annoying her, _just stop.' "I didn't expect ... I was by myself." She finished pathetically.

"A little bird told me that you went out on a date with Adrien," She grinned. "Is it true?"

'Oh God, straight to the point..' Marinette bit down onto her lip. Every cell inside her body was screaming, telling her to run, spectacle be damned.

"Wait, I thought he was going out with Kagami?" Juleka sat down next to Marinette once they made it over to the table.

"I haven't seen them together for ages," Alix mused. "Maybe they broke up?" She theorized.

Mylène clasped her hands together. "What if they split up so that you could be with Adrien?" She paused." oh my, it's like a scene straight out of a movie."

"How did he ask you out?" Rose cheered.

"And how was it?" Mylène squealed.

"Yeah, even I want to know all the details right now." Juleka seemed more excited than usual.

"Did he spoilt you rotten?"

"Guys, guys, just leave her alone." Alya protested. A cheeky grin spread across her face and her eyes lit up. "I'm just joking. Sooo -- how did your date go?"

Marinette looked from one to the other, unsure of whose question she should answer first. "It was...uh..." she paused. "Good." She ate slowly, chewing her food thoughtfully.

"What?!" Alya cried out in mock surprise. "Good? That's it?! You've been plotting how to get him to notice you for years, and it was good?" She protested.

"Uh-huh."

"Tell us more!"

"Like what?" She said carefully. She didn't like where this was going.

"Welllll how was your lunch with Adrikins?"

"Yeah! Spill the details girl!" Rose shouted.

"All right, all right guys just stop." Alix folded her arms, turning her attention to Marinette. "We need to start with the more important questions," She slammed her hands on the table. "Are we sure that Adrien and Kagami are history? Because I will kick his ass if he's trying to date the two of you at the same time -"

"No! Adrien wouldn't do that," Marinette protested.

Alya nodded in approval. "Yeah, she's right. He's more like a "one girl at a time" kind of guy,"

"But how can we know for sure?" Alix pressed.

"He's just a sweet guy, who doesn't wish to harm anyone intentionally," Marinette replied, eyeing her food. "I know him, he's just not like that."

"Isn't that what they all try to make you believe?! That doesn't prove anything?"

"I spoke with Kagami, and she told me that they weren't dating." She felt her blood boil at Alix's words. "And she would never lie about something like that. She just wouldn't."

"Wait." Rose interjected. "You spoke with Kagami? What did she say?"

"Well, to be honest I don't believe that the two of them were ever actually dating." Marinette hesitated. "Kagami mentioned that she had asked him out, and that Adrien had rejected her, telling her he wasn't ready... or something like that. And that she was tired of waiting for him, so she wanted to move on."

Alya leaned forward, sensing there was more. "Aaaaaaand..., what else did she say?"

"That she was under the impression that Adrien was in love with someone else," Marinette admitted.

They all gasped in unison.

"Oh my God, she was talking about you!" Mylène squealed. "You're the secret girl he's in love with, and that's why he rejected Kagami." She sighed, a romantic look spreading across her face. " it all makes sense now."

"I'm not sure about that!" Marinette said quickly. "And neither are you."

"But. he. asked. you. out!" Rose protested. "It has to be you!"

"Who else could it be?" Juleka wondered.

Marinette shook her head slowly. "Guys, he didn't really ask me out. I just happened to be strolling around with Kagami and all of a sudden I stumbled across his photoshoot in the park." That was a lie, but she wasn't about to admit that Kagami had basically pushed her and Adrien together. "Adrien was exhausted and wet. I'm convinced that he was just looking for a friend and I happened to be there. I could hardly say no when he asked if I wanted to grab lunch." She paused. "And by the way, are you aware that his father makes him do photoshoots in the rain? With no cover?"

"He made him do what!?" Alya said indignantly. "That asshole!"'

"I feel sorry for Adrien. It was freezing cold yesterday too," Juleka said softly. "I hope he didn't get sick."

"Adrien's father is the worst," Alix muttered, and Mylène and Rose nodded in agreement.

"Right?" Marinette leaned back in her chair. "At first I thought it might be a date, but... there is really no proof that Adrien likes me. He's had dozens of chances to ask me out before and he never has. He didn't even refer to our lunch as a "date." It might have just been a friendly lunch."

Marinette blushed, biting into her macaroon. "There has to be someone else." Her heart clenched a bit as her friends exchanged looks.

Marinette offered them a genuine smile, a smile that showed the gratitude she held for her friends.

"What if it's Chloé or Lila," Alix rolled her eyes." God that would be awful."

"It could be anyone. And no one." Marinette said, shrugging, but she agreed with Alix on that one. " I got no clue."

There was a long pause where they all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Alya in particular had her face screwed up in concentration, an expression not unlike she usually wore in math class.

Occasionally they would steal a sideways glance at one another.

And in spite of her earlier dread, she felt a swell of affection for all of her friends. She had been so occupied with her new life, that she had forgotten to spend time with any of them over the past few weeks. She regretted that. It was refreshing to have a conversation with someone that didn't involve Hawkmoth.

"Did he mention something about wanting to hang out with you again? Because that could mean something." Mylène said at last.

"It's Adrien. He could just be saying that to be polite," Juleka pointed out.

"I agree,"

"There's just one tiny detail that doesn't make sense," Alya said slowly. They all turned to her.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"It's you, Marinette,"

"Me?" She was trying to sound nonplussed, but her heart was racing.

"Yeah, you. You just don't seem to be excited about this. At. All. Two months ago, you would've been over the moon if Adrien had asked you out to lunch. It wouldn't have mattered if it was just between friends; you would've been freaking out over the mere _idea_ that the two of you might get to spend some alone time together," Alya started. "But now, you're acting like it's nothing. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd think that you didn't even want to go out with him."

"Hang on! That's not true at all. I am excited and I wanted to go," Marinette objected, but it was too late. Alix, Juleka, Rose and Mylène were exchanging looks.

"You know what, Alya's right. Something's up," Alix said. "Spill it. Don't you like Adrien anymore?"

"Wh-what?" Marinette squeaked. "No! That's-"

"Oh my god," Juleka said, her eyes growing large as saucers. "Have you fallen for someone else?"

"Who?!" Rose demanded.

"I-I haven't - there's - there's no one else!"

"I can tell when you're lying. I think there is someone else. Who is it? Luka?" Alya asked.

"That would be so romantic! If you and Luka got married, you and Juleka would be sisters-in-law!" Rose gushed, grabbing Juleka's arm. Squeezing it tight.

"It's not Luka!" Marinette said, both a little too loudly and a little too quickly. She should have bitten her tongue. 'Stupid. _Stupid_..' "Juleka, I - your brother is really amazing, all right? He's sweet and kind but he's just not the right type for me." She said apologetically.

"It's all right, Marinette, you don't have to apologize, you can't control your feelings," she paused. "Truthfully, I kind of wanted to ask you about that. But I never found the right moment to ask. He told me that you made it clear that you weren't interested in him romantically. He was disappointed, but thankful for you being honest with him."

"Of course, I don't want to lead people on..."

"So if it's not Luka, it has to be someone else,"

"You guys, there is no one else," Marinette repeated, attempting to sound stern. Yet even as she spoke, an image of mischievous green eyes, blond hair and black cat ears flashed through her mind, and she felt her face grow hot.

"You're blushing!".

"You can't fool us!"

"Marinette, come on, why won't you tell us?" Alix said impatiently. "It's all right if you don't like Adrien anymore. Especially if he's in love with someone else. But why won't you tell us? Maybe we can help you get together with this new guy."

"I don't -" Marinette sighed and hid her face in her hands for a moment. Marinette suddenly felt overwhelmed, annoyed and sad at the same time.

She knew that her friends were trying to help, and that if she told them to stop, they would. If she changed the subject into something else, then they would talk about something else. But for some odd reason, she felt she would come off as rude if she did it.

And yet, it wasn't like she could just tell them about Chat Noir. She couldn't spoil his identity. Or talk too much about him because that would mark her as a fan. Marinette honestly wasn't sure which would be worse.

It wasn't right to talk about it. Especially when Marinette wasn't even sure that what she felt towards her partner quantified as something worth telling. Yes her feelings towards him had changed, but she hadn't yet identified _how_. And also, he was Chat Noir.

"Marinette?" Rose said, sympathetically.

"I'm just not ready to talk about this yet," Marinette's gaze dropped down to her feet.. "I'm just so confused and I don't know what I feel anymore, but I do know that it doesn't feel right to do anything with anyone until I know for sure. Is that wrong?"

"Of course it's not wrong," Alya said immediately, scooting closer and wrapping her arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Yeah, Marinette, it's not like you and Adrien are married," Alix said. "You don't have to spend the rest of your life tied down to him."

Juleka nodded. "Especially since it's been months and Adrien is still calling you a good friend."

"You deserve someone who truly loves you," Rose added.

"Whoever you choose, we'll be there to help you when you're ready," Mylène finished, smiling. "No rush."

Marinette tried to blink back the tears that rushed to her eyes, but they slid down her face anyway. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Aw, Mari." Alya hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pressure you. I was just so excited when it seemed like you had big news to share."

More tears threatened to fall from Marinette's eyes … although that was more to do with the grip Alya had on her neck rather than the beauty of the unconditional love that exists between friends.

"It's all right," Marinette said, because honestly she wasn't even upset about that. This was the kind of support that she craved as Ladybug, and she knew that Chat craved it too. Somehow it always came down to the two of them against the world. But as much as she cared for Chat, that was also a very lonely position to be in. It just wasn't fair! She and Chat had finally succeeded in building a semi-reliable team only for Hawkmoth to expose their allies and leave her and Chat right back where they started. They deserved better than this.

"But guys, listen. Yesterday was wonderful, whether or not it was a date. Really." She paused, looking for the right words to say. "We discussed my art sketches and he actually came with some helpful advices. I feel like we are getting to know each other, and maybe he's regarding me as a close friend now."

"I'm glad to hear that you had a good time, sweety. That's all that matters." Alya whispered.

She snuggled into Alya's hug and shortly felt more arms wrapping around her as Juleka, Rose, Mylène and Alix joined in on the hug as best they could, considering that Marinette and Alya were still sitting at their table. The hug felt good. Really good. It was exactly what Marinette had needed the most and she hadn't even realized it. A small smile crossed her face even as she lifted a hand to wipe her tears away. Having friends was the best, and if she could just figure out how to re-translate that into the superhero side of things, Hawkmoth wouldn't have a chance.


	16. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15_**

_All that it cost her_.

Marinette walked down the hall, Alya to her right, and Alix to her left.

"So are we all meeting at your place to study for the History test tonight, right?" Alya asked, stopping at her locker. Marinette stopped at the one next to it.

"What test?" Alix wondered.

"Tomorrow's test."

"Wait, we got a test tomorrow?"

"Yep! And my mom is making croissants for us,"

She dialed her combination within seconds, having mastered the technique to opening lockers long ago. She flipped open the door, ready to get the books she needed for her classes after lunch. To her surprise, an envelope fell out of her locker. She picked up the paper, drawing the attention of her two friends.

"What's that?" Alya asked. Alix looked over her shoulder to see.

"I'm not sure," Marinette said. She picked at the corner of the envelope. "It looks like someone wrote a letter to me."

"Maybe it's a love letter," Alix cooed. Alya giggled and agreed.

"I guess there's only one way to find out, right?"

With shaky hands, Marinette slowly pried open the envelope. A piece of parchment, folded into two, fell out. She picked up the parchment and carefully unfolded it. Scanning the contents of the letter, she paled dramatically, the letter falling gently to the ground.

"Marinette! What's wrong?" Alya asked quietly.

"Nothing"

"It surely doesn't look like nothing." Alix scoffed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk about it."

It wasn't a lie. The letter had been too personal, containing information only she could know about. And maybe Chat Noir, as the information involved him too.

"Ah I see, top secret personal mission."

"It's somebody else's secret, so I can't talk about it. I shouldn't have said anything about it to you at all."

"It's all right." Alya said, her voice soft. "You don't have to tell us. We understand."

"Just..., I have to go."

"See you later?"

"Yeah. See you."

-CN-X-LB-

The library door flew open with a bang, and Adrien swept inside.

"I got your message. I came as fast as I could."

"What's going on, Marinette? Is everything all right?" Adrien said, in a worried tone.

"I'm sorry I'm making you skip classes too, but this is urgent."

"You said you got a letter? What did it say?"

"Obviously I can't go into details here, but it would be dangerous, heroic work," She whispered the last part. He nodded. She scratched her head uncomfortably.

"There is something that doesn't make sense though."

"What is it."

"The handwriting. It's mine."

Silence.

An awkward silence blanketed them that felt worse then fighting an akuma. Adrien opened his mouth then closed it again. Their eyes met before the blonde could decide otherwise. Marinette saw Adrien's ears turn pink.

"Are you saying that you wrote a letter to your self?"

"I can't talk about that here. However, my room is secure. If we could just go back home together, then it should be safe to explain." She offered him a weak smile."We don't have much time though. I promised my friends that they could come over and study for the test with me."

"All right. We got no time to waste. Let's go."

-LBxCN-

"Adrien-" Marinette paused, so she could gather her breath, which alarmed Adrien, "I think you should sit down." Marinette muttered, gesturing to the couch in her room.

"Why? What's going on?" Adrien's voice was panic filled, terrified by the concerned look on Marinette's face.

"I don't think that you should be standing right now."

"No, just tell me what's going on!" Adrien demanded.

"All right." She sighed." So.., regarding the letter. It says that he or she knows the true identity of Hawk Moth."

"He or she? You said you thought that it was your handwriting."

"It might have been my future self writing a letter to me, " she paused. "It says that Hawk Moth is...," she gave herself another moment to figure out how to deliver the news. "It claims that he is your father." Marinette gave him a pitying look.

-CN-X-LB-

He winced.

His whole world fell apart.

"Say something." she said with a shaky voice.

Adrien couldn't think. "You…You…"

There was a long, awkward silence as Adrien just… stared in shock and disbelief. And then, he burst out laughing. "Marinette, we have been through this before, remember?" He sighed as his laughter faded out. "You can't be serious."

Adrien cleared his throat and could feel his cheeks burning. "please tell me that you're joking." He furrowed his brow and reached for his glass of water to take a sip and give himself another moment to figure out what to say.

"I.., err...," she paused. "This isn't easy for me neither. First Master Fu told me that whoever possessed the Grimoire probably had the Moth and Peacock miraculous too. We seriously thought your father was Hawk Moth."

"But his theories were debunked." He seethed.

"Adrien," she said uneasily. "What if Lady Bug never gave up? What if she continued her research, and somehow revealed his identity? And then she wrote me that letter in order to warn us?"

"I refuse to believe that my father is Hawk Moth based off a letter. That . hasn't. even. been. signed!" He was so mad that he was shaking visibly. "That makes no sense!"

"Adrien, please don't raise your voice at me like that," tears formed in her eyes. " Listen, I showed you that Gabriel Agreste's brand logo is a butterfly, remember?" She said, voice gentle. "And it made you feel suspicious too. Remember?"

"I do." He admitted. "But I see that logo everywhere, every single day, but that doesn't have to mean anything. It's just a butterfly." He paused. "I know that my father is a secretive and reclusive man, but seriously. Marinette. Do you think he could do that? Put everyone who lives in Paris in danger?"

"I don't know, Adrien. He is my favorite designer. I love his outfits, but I also see how he treats you. I think that I should not admire him so much. Maybe he produces amazing designs, and maybe he's really good at his job, but to the cost of your well-being? No. He should prioritize you, you should come first for him and if he doesn't change, then yes, I am convinced that he is evil in the end. If he is, I don't know why, but he should open his eyes and see how much you need him. And he should be the father you deserve. He should be there for you no matter what. No design collection is worth loosing one's son."

Adrien's eyes were full of tears.

"I know that my father is not the best role model out there, I know he could have been a better father if he really wanted to,"

She bit her lip."Listen-"

"But he is no villain!" "Have you got any idea how many times Hawk Moth has hurt me? How many times he injured me?" He snarled angrily, interrupting her. Marinette winced.

"Adrien please, listen..,"

"He has almost destroyed Paris several times! My father wouldn't have been able to do that! He loves our city."

"...,"

"He would have never done those things to me!"

"I'm sorry Adrien, I didn't mean to upset you. I sincerely hope that your father isn't Hawk Moth, but -"

"But Marinette my father was akumatized! That would never have happened if he was a miraculous holder!" Adrien barked, his voice is shaking, he was so angry. Marinette's heart sank.

" That's what I reported back to Master Fu, but he didn't seem convinced. We are most likely missing some data. Are miraculous holders immune to akumatizations? We don't know for sure. At first, when your father was akumatized I felt relieved. It meant that there was no way he could be Hawk Moth. But after witnessing Master Fu's reaction I started to doubt that theory. He was akumatized just when I began suspecting him, just when the book appeared and could potentially point him out as the villain. And he asked me about my earrings. It can't be a coincidence." She sighed." "What if it was a ruse?"she paused. "Yet you got akumatized. Chloe too."

"That was different. I got akumatized on a different timeline! This doesn't prove anything!"

"You need to calm down, or you'll get akumatized again!"

He ignored her warning.

" It can't be him." The model gnawed on the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to accept that possibility. "There's got to be another explanation." Adrien insisted.

To Say that Adrien was Angry was understatement. He was furious. And he had many reasons to be so.

"So I happen to be Chat Noir, thus the son of a villain, is that another coincidence?"

"I don't know. Because if Master Fu knew about Hawk Moth's true identity, then why didn't he tell us, or do anything to stop him? Would he have let someone threaten some innocent bystanders? Just to avoid ending up in the conflict himself? But the fact that we received our miraculous the very same day that Hawk Moth released his first Akuma is no coincidence. So he must have known something about this."

"Master Fu is an old man, if these miraculous were lost when he was young, then Hawk Moth can't possibly be my father. They are not the same age!" "And besides, he said that the spell book was the last gift from my mother. That all he had left of her was that book... and me." He paused. " I have been looking for the Peacock and the Moth miraculous at home, but it's no where to be found."

"As I said, I really hope that he's not-"

"And you could have written that letter yourself earlier today!"

"And why would I have done that?"

"To... to..." "it doesn't matter. " "why would we believe what a letter says that has no valid proof what so ever? It's a theory. Hawk Moth could be anybody."

"What kind of sources would you want?"

"Anything! A journal, some photos. Anything that would have supported this theory and make it more trustworthy.

And how can you even know that the letter was written by your future self? What if this is a trap? What if it's Lila who's trying to fool you?

You're so gullible. You believe everything. Ladybug would have never bought that letter!" He spat. "It makes you weak, Marinette. And pathetic"

At those words, Marinette's pupils shrank."Take. That. Back."

"Why should I take back something when it's-"

"I said...TAKE. IT. BACK!..." Marinette yelled, cracking her knuckles.

It was only then, that it dawned to him what he said, and the guilt slammed into him like a truck going at 70 mph. His face dropped to the floor, and a single tear slid down his nose.

"How dare you compare me to my alter-ego?" She hissed. "How dare you insult my judgement? When it's you, Chat who get hit by mind-control attacks?"

Adrien glanced up, startled. He had not been expecting this response from her at all.

He stared at her, his gaze slowly softening as he saw the pain in her body language.

"I'm going home." Adrien murmured, floundering for the right words and choking back tears slightly when Marinette turned her face away.

As he walked down the trapdoor he could hear her faint sobbing and a pang of guilt shot through his heart.

Shaking his head forcefully, he hardly noticed the tears streaming down his face as he pushed onwards, making his feet step one after the other.

-LB-X-CN-

"He didn't handle that very well." Tiki sighed.

"I would have reacted the same way if someone accused my parents of being a villain."

"I get that. But he wasn't even trying to understand."

"We need Bunnix." Marinette closed her eyes."I need to speak to the future version of Ladybug."


End file.
